Republicans get serious on housing crisis with high-profile conservative influencer leading the charge
FIRST ON FOX: Conservative influencer Benny Johnson is leading a new initiative to "Make Housing Great Again" amid concerns that Millennials and Gen Z are being pushed out of homeownership...
By Fox News · Fox News
FIRST ON FOX: Conservative influencer Benny Johnson is leading a new initiative to "Make Housing Great Again" amid concerns that Millennials and Gen Z are being pushed out of homeownership by rising costs, stagnant wages and regulatory burdens. The new initiative, which is being announced Friday, will be led by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) with help from Johnson, who will be the initiative's co-chair and national spokesperson, serving as the voice of the initiative. Johnson will also help lead a business advisory council related to making housing more affordable. "Benny has 4 million followers. He is, you know, so influential. He's been talking about this a lot on his own social media platforms, and so he is the perfect person to help deliver the policies," Ashley Hayek, AFPI’s executive vice president and co-chair of the initiative, told Fox News Digital. "He has young children. I have young children. And for us, we are both very fired up about this issue." I WORKED WITH CHARLIE KIRK FOR MORE THAN A DECADE. AMERICA LOST A FUTURE PRESIDENT Hayek pointed out that advocating for policy is, at least in part, a messaging war, and Johnson's ability to articulate himself well will help with that. Additionally, he has the attention of many young people, who Hayek noted often aren't aware of the tools out there to help them buy a home. Greg Sindelar, AFPI's interim president, added that the current culture in the United States "too often diminishes traditional aspirations," like homeownership and building a family, which has taken a toll on younger generations. Even Democrats tend to agree. Former Democrat congressman and ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in August explaining how the increased difficulty of homeownership is depressing young men, particularly due to the fact that buying a home is often seen as such a pivotal part of achieving the American Dream. "Rising costs, stagnant wages, regulatory burdens, and a cult…