California presents a scenario of the worst possible consequences of the housing affordability crisis. However, CBP's recommendations for addressing the crisis in California appear to be limited by its being perceived as an organization primarily concerned with the public sector and fiscal matters. In general, CBP recommends the same approach as do Stegman and his colleagues: a variety of federal (CBP also says state) government-originated solutions, such as affordable-housing bond measures and more effective tax incentives for housing construction.

CBP does not fully address the role of the private sector. But as Stegman and his colleagues note, there is "a compelling case for expanding the affordable housing coalition to include working families and the influential constituencies of which they are part, including organized labor and the business community." It would be appropriate for the model for a broader coalition to come from California, where the crisis is perhaps most full blown.

Creating and maintaining strong public-private partnerships is one way to expand the coalition and tackle the housing affordability crisis. Because the private sector is the prime factor in both job creation and the housing market, it must have a key role in addressing the crisis. Federal and state governments also can play important roles by providing economic and fiscal incentives for local public-private initiatives to contain and stop the crisis.