Canceling rent, radical though it sounds, would help low-income families keep their head above water, stabilize the housing market, and reduce the depth of the recession. But in some ways, even that radical-sounding demand is too small. This is not just a sudden housing crisis. This is a sudden housing crisis that has collided with a slow-boiling, structural housing crisis. Even before the viral recession hit, high housing costs were leading to homelessness, long commute times, food insecurity, and diminished household savings. The rents were too high. They are too high. And now the government must do something about it.

Just a few months ago, the American economy was arguably as good as it had been since the 1990s or even the 1960s. The unemployment rate was at a historic low. Growth was good, if not great. Wages were rising across the board. Even so, an affordability crisis was gripping tens of millions of low-income, middle-income, and even high-income families: The cities fueling America’s innovation and growth had severe housing shortages, caused in part by decades of underbuilding and overly restrictive zoning policies. That led to soaring home prices, benefiting wealthy homeowners but shutting millions of younger Americans out of the housing market and driving up rents.

As of 2018, 44 percent of renters in New York paid more than 30 percent of their income in rent; 22 percent paid more than 50 percent. But the problem extended far beyond superstar cities on the coasts.