We all know that raising wages isn't going to do much at all, by 2025 when the $15/hr min wage kicks in the min wage will probably need to be at least $25/hr (likely more).
Since most of our money is just going to property owners and they just keep raising rents (usually for no other reason than greed) why not regulate rental housing instead?
Right now its quite literally a free-for-all, they can charge whatever they want since there is no competition and we have no other choice than to pay the exorbitant rents they are asking.
Federally regulate rents by assigning a $ value per sq ft, with some amount added for in-unit amenities like a washer/dryer or other amenities like a parking space.
Regulate what they can ask for in terms of renting like income requirements, deposits, credit scores, rental history etc.
Require that all rental housing must offer low-income, affordable housing (with no grandfathering for existing apartments).
As long as property owners rent at “market rates” nothing will change. You can build all the new housing you want and rents will never go down, since those “market rates” are dictated and maipulated by the property owners themselves (yes, they are price fixing the market and have been for a long time).
Raising wages isn't a viable solution by itself.