The Trump administration is considering a plan to let Americans use their 401(k) retirement accounts for a down payment on a home, though the president is “not a big fan” of the idea.
The move is the latest in a series of government initiatives aimed at combating the so-called ‘affordability crisis’. From floating the idea of “perpetual” mortgages with a 50-year term, to requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds to lower interest rates, to capping credit card interest rates at 10%, there is no shortage of proposals.
The Trump administration rightly recognizes the financial problems that many Americans are feeling – and have been feeling for years.
THE AMERICAN DREAM IS NOT DEAD, BUT EVERYONE OF US MUST HELP IT FLOWER
According to a December 2025 Gallup poll, nearly half of Americans (47%) describe current economic conditions as “bad,” the highest since September 2024. As many as 68% believe economic conditions are worsening, and 11% say inflation is the most important problem facing the U.S., up from 6% in September.
Why would an American feel the need to steal from his future to pay for the present, by taking out a fifty-year mortgage, or emptying his retirement account just to buy a house?
These figures may come as a surprise, given the decent economic conditions in our country. Today, inflation is 2.7%, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This slightly increased rate is a far cry from the 9.1% inflation rate the US experienced in the summer of 2022.
Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate stands at 4.3% as of November 2025, barely up from 4.0% a year earlier. Most Americans today can easily find a job if they find themselves out of work.
Houses are now more expensive than at any time since World War II. The ratio of house prices to median income was 7.07 in September 2025, surpassing the ratio of 6.81 reached at the height of the housing bubble in 2006. (iStock)
Additionally, real average hourly wages increased 1.1% from December 2024 to December 2025, meaning most Americans have made progress in the fight against inflation over the past year.
I AM GEN Z AND MANY IN MY GENERATION GOT LOST IN THE AMERICAN DREAM. Prove them wrong
So why are so many Americans angry about the economy? Why is the Trump administration pulling out all the stops to tackle the affordability crisis? And why would an American feel the need to steal from his future to pay for the present, by taking out a fifty-year mortgage, or emptying his retirement account just to buy a house?
For young Americans like me, these are ‘the best of times’ [and] the worst of times,” to quote Charles Dickens in “A Tale of Two Cities.”
While current economic indicators are generally above average, Americans are still reeling from the generational economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s extraordinary response to it.
Although inflation has fallen, that does not mean that prices have become cheaper. It simply means that already highly inflated prices are now rising more slowly.
What you could buy for $100 in January 2020 now costs $125.62. Unless our economy experiences deflation (which typically only occurs during a recession), most goods and services will be even more expensive a year from now.
Furthermore, houses are now more expensive than at any time since World War II. The ratio of house prices to median income was 7.07 in September 2025, surpassing the ratio of 6.81 reached at the height of the housing bubble in 2006.
THE AMERICAN DREAM continues to slip away as younger adults retreat to their parents’ homes
It’s no wonder that the typical U.S. homebuyer is now 40 years old – the oldest on record, as of November 2025. The average age of all U.S. homebuyers in 2025 was 59 years old, up from 39 in 2010.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve, the government’s central bank, bought $1.4 trillion in mortgage bonds, artificially pushing down mortgage rates and sending home prices soaring.
From 2020 to 2022, the average home price increased by a whopping 40% in just two years, from $317,100 to $442,600. As if that wasn’t enough, the Federal Reserve decided to take it one step further.
The Fed raised interest rates from near zero in 2020 to over 5% in 2024. Mortgage rates accordingly rose from 3.37% in 2020 to 6.75% today. So not only do homes cost more now, but the debt required to purchase a home is much more expensive than it was just a few years ago.
This reality teaches us a lesson: there is no problem so big that the government cannot make it much worse.
This economic reality has real consequences. Young people are likely to feel that they cannot afford to get married, start a family or buy a home, delaying many life milestones that previous generations took for granted.
A unaffordable economy is one reason the average age for first marriage in the United States is 30 for men and 28 for women, both record highs. Likewise, the fertility rate in the US has fallen to an all-time low.
Additionally, financial stress negatively impacts all American families – both young and old – as money fights are the second leading cause of divorce, behind infidelity.
While the Trump administration is doing an admirable job of trying to alleviate some of the symptoms that many are feeling, as former President Ronald Reagan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I am from the government and I am here to help.”
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Young Americans should not look to Washington DC to solve their economic problems. Instead, they should do what Americans have always done. Take responsibility; hard work; and never give up.
Young adults must learn to live on less than they earn, create and live on a budget, choose to make financial sacrifices, pay off debt, take a second job if necessary, and save for the future.
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America may be experiencing an affordability crisis. But never give in to the left’s victim mentality, nor ask the government to solve a problem it created.
The solution starts and ends with the person in the mirror.
