Because most of what gets labeled a "solution" never touches the real constraint: how much buildable land sits near jobs, and what it costs to build on that land. Most programs work around those limits instead of fixing them. Mandating high-rise rental apartments, some of the most expensive housing to build, on land that could hold many single-family homes pushes people toward renting instead of ownership, where families actually build wealth. Requirements forcing units to be as small or stripped-down as possible miss the point too, because the shortage is land and building capacity. Layering subsidies and mandates on top of a shortage leaves the shortage in place. Durable affordability comes from expanding supply: more homes where people want to live, which means tackling land, zoning, and construction costs directly. That fix is slow and unglamorous, and slow, unglamorous work rarely wins elections. Programs with a ribbon-cutting do. That gap between what works and what polls well is most of your answer.