Because we’ve been sold the story that your house has to appreciate in value 2-3 times over the period you live in it, consequently, homeowners vote against anything that lowers housing costs.
Except it's not much of a lie. The actual return on housing is basically not much higher than inflation
They're not mutually exclusive goals. Wanting a more affording salary and scalable housing both are valid goals.
Governments may be uniquely positioned to offer housing incentives as they often own the land, and control the zoning.
The only way that works is to build more housing. Austin has shown the way.
You could also cut back on the number of people who own multiple properties.