In a May 3 statement, National Housing Conference (NHC) President/CEO and former Treasury Department official during the Obama and Trump administrations David M. Dworkin expressed serious concerns about the Fed’s move to increase interest rates.
“Today’s actions by the Federal Reserve Board’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to increase interest rates by another 25 basis points risks triggering stagflation, combining a recession with inflation,” Dworkin noted. “As I stated previously, raising interest rates further to control inflation is no longer the answer and is instead contributing to an increase in the cost of shelter. The FOMC needs to let the economy absorb the previous rate increases while we focus on increasing housing supply to address skyrocketing shelter costs.
“The FOMC’s indication it may step back from taking further action will not address the affordable housing shortage in the country that has been exacerbated by inflation” Dworkin continued. “We need the Administration and Congress to address the critical need for affordable housing in this country and move forward with actions and policies that will increase our nation’s housing supply. Federal support, such as the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act and the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, would create 2.5 million affordable housing units over the next 10 years if enacted.”
Founded in 1931, the National Housing Conference is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and the oldest and broadest housing coalition in America. Dworkin was a and has led the organization since 2018.
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