Submission by Tom DeWeese, American Policy Center

Is the American dream dead? Here’s a shocker: your children may never have a family and own their own home.

According to a new report from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, right now only 12 percent of 30-year-old Americans are married and have a home of their own. Representative Greene is working to stop the growing crisis for younger families. Her chart clearly exposes it.

Marriage and homeownership were never just personal milestones. They were sovereignty anchors—forms of decentralized power that rooted individuals in community. They were family. They were the means for building wealth and independence.

In other words, family and home ownership are vital to our culture, our society, and our freedom. But ever since the climate change “sustainable development” agenda was launched, private property has been the central target. Now younger generations are coming face to face with the result: there is no room for their hopes, dreams, or plans for the future. They can’t buy a home. Many can’t even afford skyrocketing rent.

The American dream cannot survive under this disaster. I’ve reported many times on the growing attacks on private property, led by the radical green movement that has taken control of community development—all under the lie of an environmental crisis.

Under that scare tactic, communities have accepted outrageous development controls. Large homes have become environmentally “incorrect.” “McMansions” are said to use too much energy—though this never applies to the sprawling estates of global elites.

As Smart Growth programs began taking hold in cities nationwide, single-family neighborhoods became a prime target. Smart Growth denies personal choice and shifts power to government planners. Its focus is moving people out of rural areas and suburbs into dense urban centers—“15-minute cities.”

In such plans there is no room for traditional two-story homes with yards. No cars, no garages. The new model is high-rise apartments squeezed together in urban clusters, where residents walk or bike to stores and rely on public transit to get to work—all justified under the disproven fear of climate change.

How do you get people to accept such a drastic lifestyle change? By creating a crisis. The claim is that we have a housing shortage. Advocates argue, “We can put 100 families in the space of your house and yard that today only holds four people!”

The real question is: do we truly have a housing shortage? If so, why? Homebuilders should be able to meet demand. Why aren’t homes affordable to the average American?

The truth is we don’t have a housing shortage—we have a government interference problem. For decades, government has worked to limit homebuilding. They call it “urban sprawl.” To “protect the environment,” single-family developments are restricted, while thousands of stack-and-pack units are encouraged. Many cities have drawn “urban growth boundaries,” forbidding construction outside those lines.

The poster child is Portland, Oregon. Over 20 years ago, Portland imposed a growth boundary, and it hasn’t changed much since. Meanwhile, the population has grown by almost 80 percent. The result: a government-created housing crisis. Now it’s happening in cities across the country.

The drive is on to destroy single-family neighborhoods and replace them with apartment blocks. This is government-controlled housing. Personal choice is erased.

Meanwhile, inflation created by reckless government spending has driven up costs. Local governments have raised property taxes. Mortgage rates have soared. For the few single-family homes still being built, affordability is out of reach for younger families.

As new home sales decline, renting becomes the only option. But high interest rates, inflation, and property taxes drive up rent too. Today, even a small apartment costs nearly as much as a mortgage—if you can even find one available.

None of this is accidental. It is being engineered for top-down control over the population. Controlling where and how people live is the first step to controlling their energy use, their food supply, and their freedom of movement.

The Baby Boomer generation didn’t face this. They enjoyed a strong economy and a free market that offered opportunity: good jobs, affordable transportation, and attainable homes. Most started small, often with roommates or a modest apartment, then moved forward with marriage and family. That was the American dream.

Consider the changes since the 1960s. The median family income was $9,867 per year, while the average home cost $27,000. A car cost $2,500. A new mom could stay home to raise children while the father supported the family on one income.

Today, a family needs nearly $100,000 annually just to get by, with little hope of building a better future. Starter homes can cost $500,000. Cars begin around $30,000. Young people starting out cannot keep pace.

It’s no surprise, then, that so many young Americans express hopelessness when asked about their future. They want to marry and start families, but they cannot afford homes or children. Hopelessness has become the defining word for a generation.

The radical green movement is destroying the American dream—and succeeding. The question is, what can be done?

One thing we cannot do is simply assume a single leader will fix it. Even President Trump cannot undo a massive system that has infiltrated every level of government. We must be there too. I have dedicated my life to exposing and fighting these forces. I know who they are, their agenda, and how they have worked tirelessly to impose it.

The good news is that more Americans are beginning to recognize the threat and search for ways to resist it. The most important step is to build pressure at every level of government to restore property rights. That is the key to freedom.

Property owners must have the right to say no to powerful corporations like BlackRock and Vanguard, which are buying up single-family homes to demolish and replace with rental complexes that strip away ownership. Eminent domain must no longer be abused for private projects. Property taxes, inflated by government overspending, must be restrained.

Local officials must recognize that non-governmental organizations pressing them to pass destructive policies are not neutral experts—they are enemies of freedom. Every elected official must be asked: who do you represent?

America’s future depends on citizens who refuse to accept this organized tyranny. At stake is the very foundation of freedom itself—private property ownership.