The bread example is apt if considered in the context of the apartment issue. What was driving up the price of housing was that they were not creating new housi

The bread example is apt if considered in the context of the apartment issue. What was driving up the price of housing was that they were not creating new housing at a pace to keep up with demand. So using the focus you had on bread, so you lower the price of bread so more people can afford it. However you don't increase the bakers ability to create bread and they still only have the same amount of bread as before. Well for the most part you have only swapped who has the bread and the number without is basically the same as before. You have done nothing but reduce the profit of the bread maker, at most. The right answer is to increase availability to where those who have the desire to have bread are satisfied and bread remains around that needs someone to buy it. Almost all housing shortages are government created if not 100%. Either through direct changes to laws and regulation or through providing the means for other groups to contest the construction of new properties in the courts because enough loop holes exist to stop any new housing.