Judy Pino is the national spokesperson for Independent Women and The LIBRE Initiative.
American Families Haven’t Abandoned The American Dream. Washington Has
August 14, 2026
For many Hispanic families, the American dream has always meant buying a home, raising a family, and creating a better future for the next generation. As one of the nation’s youngest and fastest-growing communities, many Hispanics are reaching those milestones just as they are becoming harder than ever to afford.
The good news is that we can build more homes, produce more affordable energy, improve infrastructure, and make it easier for entrepreneurs to grow businesses by modernizing outdated regulations, streamlining permitting, and removing unnecessary barriers to investment and innovation.
For generations, owning a home has been at the center of the American dream. Today, however, first-time buyers are running into a brick wall: Seventy-seven percent of American households cannot afford the median price of a new single-family home.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, government regulationsadd an estimated $93,870 to the cost of a new single-family home. Even modest price increases matter — for every $1,000 increase in a home’s cost, another 116,000 households are priced out of the market.
Homeownership is one of the most important ways to build generational wealth. Cutting red tape to expand housing options, including accessory dwelling units; reducing lot sizes for detached cottages, smaller homes, and other flexible housing choices would help make that goal attainable for more Hispanic families.
But housing is only one part of the affordability challenge.
Energy costs affect almost everything families buy, from groceries to construction materials. Hispanic households spend about 42% more of their income on energy than the national average.
Expanding domestic energy production and streamlining permitting can help lower costs while ensuring families have access to reliable energy.
Read the full opinion piece here.