OPINION — For years, economists warned that a structural “big squeeze” was coming, a convergence of rising costs, stagnant wages and systemic fragility. What they didn’t predict was the accelerant: artificial intelligence.
The squeeze isn’t theoretical anymore. It’s here, it’s tightening and the housing market is the clearest indicator of how deep the fracture runs.
Housing has always been the place where economic reality becomes impossible to ignore. You can hide wage stagnation behind credit cards. You can hide inflation behind subsidies. But you cannot hide the cost of shelter. And today, the math simply doesn’t work.