The American Dream Is Frozen

By Christina Hines | Mom on a Mission, Special Victims Prosecutor & Candidate for Congress (MI-10)

The American Dream Is Frozen

By Christina Hines | Mom on a Mission, Special Victims Prosecutor & Candidate for Congress (MI-10)

Growing up, I was one of those kids who babysat, cleaned houses, and mowed lawns to earn a few extra dollars, but my first “real” job - like a clock-in, clock-out job - was working in the garden department at Home Depot in Sterling Heights.

I spent the summer hauling bags of mulch, watering flowers, and pretending I knew more about lawn mowers than I actually did. I actually loved the 6 am shift when everything was quiet and relatively peaceful. It wasn’t glamorous work, but there was something satisfying about helping people figure out what they needed to solve a problem or make something beautiful, and I really enjoyed working alongside many of the folks there.

When I worked there, I often talked to people who were working on their homes. They came in excited about finishing a basement, planting a garden, repainting a bedroom before a new baby arrived, or finally building the deck they’d been saving up for. Some projects were practical, some were probably too ambitious. But underneath all of them was the same belief: that investing in your home meant investing in your future.

That belief used to feel like a normal part of American life. Now, it feels out of reach.

I talk to people across our district who feel stuck. Young couples with good jobs who STILL can’t afford a starter home.

People - including my husband and I - are delaying home repairs because groceries and gas already stretch the budget to its limit.

Some families are in homes they’ve outgrown because mortgage rates make moving impossible. Even downsizing right now will double some people’s monthly payment because housing costs are just so high right now. This means that people are staying put and that homes don’t hit the market.

The American Dream is disappearing because wages aren’t going up, but the costs of everything from groceries, healthcare, gas, and housing have skyrocketed.

When people can’t afford homes, they delay everything else, too. They put off having children. They postpone retirement. They stop opening small businesses. They stop imagining bigger futures for themselves because survival takes all their energy.

That kind of economic anxiety changes our community and our country over time. It chips away at hope and the belief that tomorrow can be better than today.

We need leaders who understand that housing is not just an economic issue. It’s a family issue, a community issue, and a United States of America issue.

The timing couldn’t be more important. Congress recently found rare bipartisan agreement on the need to address housing affordability and increase housing supply, which is very encouraging! Just days ago, Congress passed the ROAD to Housing Act with large bipartisan majorities.

But instead of signing the bill, President Trump has delayed action on it and is demanding Congress first pass the SAVE Act, an unrelated voting measure that would prevent millions of Americans from voting. Families don’t need more political games or partisan brinksmanship - we need results.

Regardless of what happens with this or any other bill in Washington, the reality for families here in Michigan is the same: housing costs are too high, supply is too low, and too many people feel locked out of the American Dream.

Every month housing costs remain out of control, more young families give up on buying their first home, more seniors struggle to downsize, and more workers find themselves priced out of the communities they love. We need leaders focused on practical solutions that lower costs and expand opportunity.

So what would I do in Congress?

Housing affordability won’t be solved by a single bill, but there are practical steps we can take right now to bring costs down and help more families achieve homeownership:

• Expand tax incentives that help build affordable housing, and increase the supply of homes available to working families in our district.

• Reward communities that are increasing housing supply and creating opportunities for families to buy or rent affordable homes.

• Cut unnecessary red tape, permitting delays, and regulatory capture that drive up construction costs and make it harder to build housing.

• Encourage the redevelopment of vacant and underused properties into housing instead of allowing them to sit empty.

• Reduce tariffs that increase the cost of building materials and ultimately make homes more expensive.

• Support workforce development programs that train the next generation of skilled tradespeople, helping us build more homes while creating good-paying jobs.

When people can afford to put down roots, entire neighborhoods become stronger: our seniors are honored and taken care of, schools stabilize, and small businesses grow.

I learned that at seventeen years old loading mulch onto carts at Home Depot, even if I didn’t fully understand it yet. A home is never just a building. It’s security and hope for the future.

I don’t think Americans are asking for too much when they want that dream back.

If you believe we need leaders willing to fight for working families, affordable housing, and an economy where hard work actually leads somewhere again, I hope you’ll support our campaign.

Please share this post, chip in if you’re able, or sign up to volunteer with Team Hines. We’re building a campaign rooted in the belief that ordinary people deserve a fair shot at a stable future. Together, we can make that possible again.