LAS VEGAS — President Biden said Tuesday, “The rent is too damn high.” Well, almost.
“Rent is too high and buying a home is out of reach for too many working families and young Americans, after decades of failure to build enough homes,” he said in a White House statement issued as the prez preps to address the NAACP convention Tuesday afternoon.
“I’m determined to turn that around,” he said.
The presumptive Democratic nominee didn’t precisely copy the now-famous 2010 comment by New York gubernatorial candidate James McMillian III, who uttered “The rent is too damn high” remark at a debate. But the sentiment is there.
“Today, I’m sending a clear message to corporate landlords: If you raise rents more than 5% on existing units, you should lose valuable tax breaks,” Biden said.
That would require an act of Congress, the White House conceded in a “fact sheet” calling on both chambers to pass the “Biden-Harris Housing Plan,” which he first proposed here during a March visit.
The plan would also move federal lands into a pool for housing development, starting with the sale of 20 acres of Bureau of Land Management property at the bargain-basement price of $100 per acre.
BLM will soon announce an 18-acre sale in nearby Henderson, the White House said, as the feds contemplate an additional 562.5-acre sale.
Housing is a top concern in Southern Nevada, where rents have risen after pandemic-period restrictions and where home prices remain high.
By linking his statement to his two-day Las Vegas stay, Biden is aiming to connect with black and Hispanic voters, many of whom are deserting the Democrats to support former President Donald Trump. A poll released Tuesday, for example, shows the incumbent president down 20 points with black Virginia voters.
A recent study from home-warranty company Cinch said Silver State residents pay an estimated $34,770 per year in housing expenses, draining 46% of the state’s take-home household income. Cinch said that’s 10% above the national average.
Single Nevada mother Linda Fornos, addressing the Republican National Convention Monday, cited the economy as a reason she’s switching her vote this year.
“The Biden economy is driving prices through the roof, rent, gas, groceries, everything,” she said. “As a life-insurance worker, I see the struggle of people trying to save for their future while barely managing their basic needs. I’m living that same struggle every day. Life is too hard right now. One of my sons works three jobs, and the other holds down two.”
Biden, who will overnight here to address the Hispanic advocacy group UnidosUS on Wednesday, hopes his housing plan will mollify voters in tough economic straits.
He also plans a sit-down interview with Black Entertainment Television as another minority-voter outreach.
For Fornos, it’s a “no sale,” however.
“In 2020, I voted for Joe Biden. . . . He has made me regret it. This November, my vote won’t be taken for granted,” she told the cheering convention crowd.