In Butler County, Ohio, neighborhoods that were once sprawling fields of corn and cattle have transformed into tightly packed subdivisions of homes priced between $350,000 and $500,000. These homes, built 15 to 20 years ago for $150,000 to $200,000, now represent a perceived wealth that has ballooned far beyond the original investment. The transformation from farmland to suburban sprawl was driven by the promise of upward mobility and the American dream—owning a home, building equity, and passing on wealth. But as the next generation comes of age, the math behind this dream is beginning to unravel. The assumption that home values will perpetually increase, and that each generation will have the income to buy in at higher prices, is proving to be dangerously flawed. Many young people, and I know a lot about this because I have kids in this age group, and I hear what they say, as well as what their friends are saying and doing. They are not encouraged to do what built this economic system: getting married before they are 30, starting to have kids, and both parents working professional jobs where their combined incomes put them into the six figures. That is no longer happening, as the goal is now out of reach for most of them. They can’t participate. Instead, because of hook-up culture making sex easy, most of them are staying home, smoking pot, and playing video games because the traditional game their parents played isn’t something this next generation is willing to do. They are getting off the hamster wheel and not showing a desire to get back on, which will dramatically change the political landscape and our entire economic system.
According to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, the median price of an existing single-family home in the U.S. hit a record $412,500 in 2024, a 60% increase over six years. Meanwhile, the median household income in 2025 is $83,150, meaning the price-to-income ratio has climbed to 5.0—well above the traditional “affordable” benchmark of 3.0. This affordability gap is especially acute for younger Americans. The National Association of Realtors reports that the share of first-time homebuyers has plummeted to a record low of 21%, and the median age of first-time buyers has surged to 40 years old, up from 28 in 1991. Gen Z and millennials, burdened by student debt, stagnant wages, and rising costs, are increasingly opting out of homeownership altogether. Many are choosing to rent, live with their families, or delay major life milestones, such as marriage and having children—decisions that have cascading effects on the economy and social stability. Most people over 40 have at least enjoyed some aspect of this game, but you can really see the impending doom in affordable items like cars. When people no longer take pride in their vehicles, clothes, or any aspect of property ownership, there is nothing to hold them to the assumptions of wealth creation. And when video games provide a more rewarding experience, they will instead put their time into those aspects of society rooted in fantasy rather than the managed economic system they inherited from their parents. This really came to my mind the other day as I was interviewing several young people for a job right out of college, where they told me they needed six figures for their positions, which I, of course, asked them why. They reported that they wanted to buy a house rather than rent, and they were 25 years old at the time of the interview. And that kind of money just wasn’t on the table, especially for such a young person. However, there are many thousands just like them who might have hopes of pursuing the American dream, but they haven’t yet realized just how unrealistic the income they will need to live it will be. I felt sorry for the kid; he had a lot to learn about life, which was going to be very tough in the years to come.
This generational shift is not just a cultural phenomenon—it’s a systemic economic crisis. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates a shortage of 4.7 million homes, a deficit that has cost states billions in GDP and personal income. The National Low Income Housing Coalition reports a shortage of 7.1 million affordable rental homes for extremely low-income renters, with only 35 affordable units available per 100 households in need. These numbers underscore the unsustainable nature of our current housing model, which relies on perpetual price increases and assumes a steady stream of buyers with rising incomes. But with mortgage rates hovering around 6.8%, and the income needed to afford a median-priced home now exceeding $126,700, the dream is slipping away for millions. The result is a society where wealth is concentrated in aging homeowners, while younger generations are locked out of the market, fueling resentment and a growing interest in socialism and government intervention. Most of the young people coming out of school these days, as it’s been for decades now at an increasing rate, have been taught socialism. After speaking with very advanced financial experts and bankers recently, I am convinced that all of them have been caught up in the short-term game and never saw any of this coming. When these kids can’t benefit from the system, of course, they were going to turn to what they were taught in public schools, and for the worst of our society, they knew what they were doing with the poison they fed everyone. There really aren’t any defenders of capitalism when it was never capitalism that created this ownership bubble; it was managed economies that were always chained to a ticking time bomb. That bomb was going to go off in a future generation. And we have arrived at that destination point. I would say that I have always been aware of it, but when those kids told me they needed $ 100,000 to start a white-collar job, it wasn’t laughter that first came to mind. It was a hopelessness that resided behind the request. An unrealistic expectation was the only path to hope that these young people had, who might otherwise be young Republicans looking to marry a nice person and start building a family. If those same people, once they realized the reality of the labor market, waited until age 40 to start a family and buy a home, with a couple of cars in the driveway, many of these same homes would be nearly a million dollars by then. And that is not realistic for any economy.
This is the backdrop against which Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for Ohio governor is unfolding. Ramaswamy has made affordability a cornerstone of his platform, advocating for the elimination of income and property taxes, implementing work requirements for Medicaid, and revitalizing Ohio’s industrial base through biotech, semiconductors, and nuclear energy. He’s also pushing for zoning reform and merit-based pay for educators, aligning with national GOP efforts to address housing supply and affordability. But the challenge is deeper than policy—it’s philosophical. The GOP must confront the reality that many young Americans are rejecting capitalism, not because they understand socialism better, but because they’ve never seen capitalism work for them. If Republicans want to remain politically relevant, they must articulate a vision of capitalism that includes sustainable wealth creation, not just asset inflation. That means infusing wealth into the broader population, stabilizing the money supply, and reevaluating the assumptions that contributed to the housing bubble. The next generation isn’t getting on the treadmill—and unless we change course, the American dream may become a relic of the past. It’s not a hopeless enterprise. The solution lies in genuine capitalism, where genuine competition inspires actual market value, rather than protecting the house of cards of previous generations and their assumed cost structure. The only way out for many young people is capitalism. However, they must see it work before they will accept it as a viable path forward. And that is the task of the next generation of political ambition.
Rich Hoffman
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