> kick existing owners in the teeth to fix this crisis
You're assuming a definition of "crisis". 2/3 of households own their own homes, and a big chunk of those that don't aren't looking to buy in any circumstances. As much as we hear about the high cost of housing, it's only an issue for an extremely vocal minority. That's not to say I don't view it as a problem (clearly it is) but I'm skeptical it's going to win any political battles.
1. "Household" is not the right unit of analysis, since a household is defined as the set of people in an existing home. Some of these include adults who would like to move out, creating a new household not accounted for in your denominator.
2. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average American moves approximately 11.7 times throughout their lifetime. In other words, current homeowners generate demand for housing just as non-homeowners do.
It's only a political battle to win as long as the disenfranchised accept arguing about it is the only framework for dealing with it. People who consistently oppose change are lucky everyone else is relatively chill—so far—about losing access to a certain kind agency over one's future in their community. One could imagine a tipping point whereby the disenfranchised start approaching the situation more directly.
I have a decent amount of equity in a house that didn't cost me a lot. Small town, housing supply is okay, market has been up in recent years.
If I lost my job and was unable to find something reasonable in my relatively non-existent local job market, I would be looking to move to somewhere with a larger employer base and barely be able to make a down payment on entry level housing.
You're assuming a definition of "crisis". 2/3 of households own their own homes, and a big chunk of those that don't aren't looking to buy in any circumstances. As much as we hear about the high cost of housing, it's only an issue for an extremely vocal minority. That's not to say I don't view it as a problem (clearly it is) but I'm skeptical it's going to win any political battles.