We’re always amazed at how short the memories are of our political class.

Prominent voices on the left are now proposing supply-side housing subsidies for the construction of 3 million new housing units over four years and $100 billion in demand-side subsidies, including up to $25,000 down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers.

This is eerily similar to the subprime lending policies that triggered a housing finance crisis and the economic meltdown in 2008.

Unfortunately, according to AEI housing analysts Edward Pinto and Tobias Peter, these housing policies and the low down payment loan craze caused a 73% drop in housing permits and eventually millions of foreclosures.

An earlier attempt to stimulate housing, the HUD Act of 1968, fizzled out by 1975, leaving behind long-term damage in cities like Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland – areas that remain economically hollowed out to this day.

There is no industry in America – with the possible exception of green energy – that is more over-subsidized than housing. The best way to make homes more affordable is to pursue pro-growth policies that raise Americans’ incomes.