What if the Housing Crisis is Intentional? Conversation with Ricardo Flores

In this episode, I spoke with Ricardo Flores, Executive Director of the nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC San Diego), where he oversees financing affordable housing and investing in underserved neighborhoods in San Diego CA. Ricardo brings a rare perspective that combines politics, government policy, and finance — and he shares some uncomfortable truths: many of the barriers that make housing expensive and scarce are not accidents or laws of nature. They were designed that way. LISC commissioned research exploring which policies could bring prices down enough for people to be able to afford homes again— and what the tax implications of those changes would be. This conversation gets into the real mechanics behind housing affordability, why reform feels so politically difficult, and how to have honest conversations about density with people who are afraid of it.