Want Lower Prices? More 'Affordability'? Move to a Red State.
By Stephen Moore
Wednesday, November 19 2025
It turns out the panoply of progressive "feel-good" policies are what make consumers feel angry and financially stressed out.
The buzzword of the month is "affordability," and based on the election results from New York, New Jersey and Virginia, voters think that's declining. Democrats think they've found a winning issue here to win back the hearts and minds of voters after the Trump sweep last year.
It's true that people are angry about prices. Steaks and hamburgers are more expensive than ever. So are coffee and rents and medical care. Many Americans are about to see a 10%-20% increase in their health care premiums starting in January.
But who's to blame? President Donald Trump said he would bring prices down; that hasn't happened. His tariffs have nudged up prices on certain products like coffee and cars. But since Trump came into office in January, prices are rising at a much slower pace. If we go back to the start of COVID-19, we find that much of the rise in prices of everything you buy is because of Biden inflation, not Trump inflation. The average inflation rate in Trump's first term was 2%. In former President Joe Biden's four-year term, it was 5%, and under Trump so far this year, it's 3%.
It's important to remember WHY inflation soared to a high of 9% under Biden. He launched a $4 trillion spending spree (remember Build Back Better?), and that was all paid for by printing and borrowing money, which caused inflation to spike.
https://cfif.org/v/index.php/commentary/43-taxes-and-economy/7469-want-lower-prices-more-affordability-move-to-a-red-state
