EDITORIAL: The chutzpah of Democrats and the ‘affordability’ theme

It’s the catchy new theme in Democratic circles. The memo is out: Drop the term “affordability” whenever you can to bludgeon President Donald Trump and Republican political candidates.

The idea is that GOP policies make life “unaffordable” for too many Americans. It’s an effort by progressives to own the “bread-and-butter” issues that swing elections. It’s also a crock and shamelessly brazen in its disregard for the intelligence of the American voter.

Let’s start with rising costs for everyday staples. Democrats now criticize Mr. Trump for ignoring inflation, which hit 3 percent in September, up slightly from previous months. Yet it was only three years ago that inflation soared to 9 percent — the highest in four decades — under President Joe Biden, triggered after Democratic majorities in Congress passed their massive spending bills as the economy recovered from the pandemic.

Move on to housing, where high costs — particularly in many urban markets — make renting and homebuying challenging. In fact, many of the areas hit hard by this problem are Democratic strongholds such as California or New York City, where those in charge have intentionally made it burdensome for developers to meet demand. In places such as Las Vegas and Nevada, where the federal government controls 85 percent of the real estate, Democrats are in no hurry to release more nonsensitive public land for housing.

Energy prices are another concern, whether it’s gasoline or the rising cost of heating and cooling a home. But which party has openly fought a war on traditional U.S. energy producers in the name of an unattainable “zero carbon emissions” pipedream? This has driven up costs, destabilized the electric grid and threatened reliability.

As for the president’s erratic tariff policies, yes, they contribute to rising prices. But let’s remember that tariffs have for decades been a staple in the Democratic policy toolbox as a means of protecting favored interests, particularly their union benefactors. But now that Mr. Trump has embraced this approach, Democrats pass themselves off as born-again free traders.

It’s also worth noting that the solutions progressives typically offer for these concerns may provide short-term benefit for the few but ultimately make the problems worse. Huge minimum wage hikes, rent control, “free” stuff, green energy fantasies, an oppressive regulatory state, higher taxes and more spending don’t alleviate consumer pain; they exacerbate it.

Mr. Trump and Republicans can’t ignore the concerns of Americans struggling to make ends meet. They must confront Democratic “affordability” attacks with growth-oriented economic policy — including tax cuts and regulatory reform — that will provide tangible benefits to Americans looking for work and opportunity. Otherwise, they’ll be paying a high cost next November.