Hello, friends, and welcome to the Bill Press Pod, where with your help, we tackle the big

issues facing us today as Americans and try to focus on some solutions. Today, one issue

not a lot of people are talking about, but should be,

because if you look at the growing number of homeless families in the streets of our cities,

or if you've talked to any young couple just starting out and trying to buy their first home,

you know there's a serious problem with affordable housing in this country.

One man has devoted his entire life to this issue.

He's the former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

under President Barack Obama, and now a candidate for president of the United States.

But today, Julian Castro takes time out from preparation for this

week's first Democratic debate to talk about the housing issue with us. Mr. Secretary,

thank you for joining us. There's no doubt there's a climate change crisis facing this country.

There's a health care crisis facing this country. Is there a housing

crisis facing America? Absolutely. We have an affordability crisis in this country right now,

and it's not just in these usual suspect cities like Boston or New York or San Francisco,

Chicago. It's everywhere.

Many people have said, for instance, and it's true that if you're working minimum wage

full time, there's not a single county where you can afford the rent for a two-bedroom apartment.

Whoa.

And today, we see more and more families that are spending 40, 50, 60 percent of their

income in rent.

At the same time, our home ownership rate is still at one of the lowest levels in the last

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