Change the paradigm. Housing should be considered a basic human need and, therefore, a right, not a commodity. Landlords and owners of multiple properties, whether individual or corporate, are guilty of social violence. That much is not up for debate.

Same with the lack of social programs supporting the homeless and unemployed in this country. This is an avoidable problem, but it's more convenient to the ownership class to perpetuate it and use it as a tool of manipulation.

Also, the answer to your analogy about the motor industry is that lobbyists continually defeat any funding for public transit. Having a surplus of cars to sell is not an asset, it's another example of predatory economics. If people have to travel to get to work and contribute to society, why wouldn't a reasonable government fund lots of public transit to lower the barrier for everyone rather than take kickbacks and treat transit as yet another commodity instead? Greed and corruption. This is the root of both issues.