"Affordability" is the hot new policy frame in American politics. Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoralty vowing to slash the cost of living with rent freezes, "free" buses, and city-run grocery stores. Mikie Sherrill coasted to New Jersey's governorship promising to cap electricity bills. Those Democrats' success has now caught the GOP's attention. "It's all about prices," Republican strategist Doug Heye told Reuters. "People are furious when they go out and spend money at the grocery store, and they can't believe what they are spending."
This poses an awkward policy challenge: Can politicians actually do anything to assuage voters' annoyance with high prices? Sure, everyone wants cheaper housing, food, and health care. But most of the discontent stems from a burst of inflation that has had cash prices jumping 20 percent to 30 percent since 2020. This can't be wished away. Wages rose faster than prices for most of this year, which should have eased discontent. Yet the griping hasn't stopped, despite this "affordability" improvement. What people really seem to want is their 2019 price levels back.
