Affordability, or rather the lack thereof, has been a core focus of Americans for many years. It played a major role in getting President Donald Trump elected in 2024. But as there hasn’t been much improvement in the day-to-day cost of living and prices generally continue to rise, many people are turning to those who caused the problem to be their savior — the government, via the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
The latest example is the widespread lamenting of the price of fast-casual meals, like burritos, across social media, with Americans complaining that they can’t even grab a quick handheld meal without it breaking the bank.
The cause, though, is always framed incorrectly. It’s blamed on capitalism or greedy companies. But the reality is that the cause is directly blamable on the government and the exact policies the Democratic Socialists are pushing.
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The federal government has racked up around $40 trillion of debt, a number so large that it’s difficult to fathom. But for context, it’s more than seven times the size of the entire economy of Germany, the third-largest economy in the world. That $40 trillion debt load has been enabled by the Federal Reserve and its willingness to print money and monetize the debt, as it did during the COVID-19 era, adding trillions of dollars to its balance sheet.
In layman’s language, that means the government, with the Fed, have devalued the money you have earned and have wrecked your purchasing power.
At the state and local levels as well, bad laws and policies have added to the costs. Policies like increasing the minimum wage have had a direct effect on the cost of living. When wages are artificially increased at the lowest levels, that works its way up through a business, as an experienced business manager expects to make materially more than an entry level worker with no skills.
As the base wages are pushed up, so are everyone else’s, not based on market dynamics and productivity, but by government mandate. To cover the increased costs, businesses raise prices. Workers may have higher wages, but their cost-of-living increases at an even faster pace, causing more unaffordability.
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Other policies that make it harder for businesses to open and to operate, from permitting to sales taxes to over-the-top compliance issues, all stunt growth and make living less affordable for consumers, a double hit on the economy.
The burrito costing more wouldn’t be so much of an issue if everything else wasn’t so expensive as well. Sure, you could bring your lunch to work, but that doesn’t solve the inflation seen in the cost of housing, healthcare, other insurance, education and, of course, taxes as well. These rising costs are all the direct result of government intervention in one way or another.
The frustration over the lack of affordability and upward mobility opportunities is causing more people, especially young people, to find any solution. Desperate people take desperate measures, even if they fundamentally make no sense, because they feel like they don’t have much to lose. This has seen more Americans turn to entities like the DSA for help, which is patently ridiculous, since their solution is more government intervention. It’s like asking the fox to guard the henhouse or an arsonist to help you put out the fire they caused.
But that’s the reality we face. The current administration has not prioritized the economy and economic affordability in a way that has resonated with a broad swath of Americans, many who are now turning to DSA utopian promises – or, perhaps dystopian promises – for help.
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Both parties are to blame for overspending and destroying purchasing power. The GOP hasn’t delivered on affordability over the past couple of years, and unfortunately this means that Democratic socialists will capitalize on the miss.
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While government across the board has made life more expensive, more Democratic socialists in government will make life even more costly and could even cost us our country.
That’s more than a burrito problem, that’s an everything problem. Less government, not more, is the only solution.