Rahm Emanuel says Dem struggles not a 'marketing problem,' tells party to fix young men's economic problems

"These patterns are two sides of the same coin. Just 30 years ago, the median age of first-time home buyers was 28. Today, it's 38. In 2000, the typical price of a single-family home was three times a family's annual income - today, it's six times," he wrote.

The former mayor stated that this is one of the primary reasons that "a full third of young adults now report a sense of despondency." 

"But, unpopular as it may be to say in some quarters of my party, the crisis affects one gender with particular potency," he said. "Like it or not, American men are still raised to believe that their role is to act as providers and protectors. And when men whose self-worth is tied up in that aspiration realize they'll never be able to buy a home, they're bound to feel shame and anger."

Emanuel argued that, instead of shying away from this issue or prioritizing other ones, his party needs to address this, as it's the real way to "save our democracy."

"Democrats talk all the time about democracy being on the ballot. But the solution won't be found only in registering more voters or making mail-in balloting universal. The problem is that real generation-over-generation prosperity is harder to achieve today," he wrote. 

"This shouldn't be some mystery: American democracy became unstable at almost exactly the same time the American Dream became unaffordable. And because that's not a coincidence, we need to tackle the homeownership challenge head-on," he added. 

He continued, "You want to restore confidence in democracy? Restore confidence in the American dream. The party for our ticket out of where we are, is making the American dream and the middle class our north star."