AFFORDABILITY: A CALL TO FREEDOM AND LIBERTY OVER GENERATIONAL ECONOMIC TRIGGERS

 

AFFORDABILITY: A CALL TO FREEDOM AND LIBERTY OVER GENERATIONAL ECONOMIC TRIGGERS

George Washington made this statement about the economy in his day, "There exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness; between duty and advantage; between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity; since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained."

Washington's economic challenges included massive national debt from the Revolutionary War, a fragmented and unstable national economy under the Articles of Confederation, and the lack of a strong federal financial system. As president, Washington, guided by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, worked to establish a national bank and federal credit, assume state debts, and create a system of federal taxation, such as the whiskey tax, to stabilize the economy and establish public credit. Personally, Washington struggled with his own finances due to wartime expenses, reliance on slave labor, and lavish spending, leaving him "asset rich but cash poor."

The most significant challenge was the national debt, which reached over $52 million by 1789, from the Revolutionary War, loans from foreign nations, and bonds owed to citizens and soldiers. $52,000,000 in 1789 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1,914,403,636.36 today The dollar had an average inflation rate of 1.54% per year between 1789 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 3,581.55%.. This means that today's prices are 36.82 times as high as average prices since 1789, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index. A dollar today only buys 2.716% of what it could buy back then. The inflation rate in 1789 was -1.12%. The current inflation rate compared to the end of last year is now 2.92%..Newspapers like the National Gazette and the Aurora frequently criticized Hamilton's economic program and the perceived aristocratic style of the Washington administration. It was unaffordable under Washington.

When I was a teenager, who didn't understand the economy according to my elders, President-elect Ronald Reagan faced the ferocious remnants of the former President James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Carter's presidency was defined by significant economic challenges, including high inflation, an energy crisis, and a recession that began in 1980. He responded with measures like wage and price guidelines, which were ineffective, and a tight fiscal policy, which he believed was necessary to control spending and inflation. Carter's appointment of Paul Volcker as Federal Reserve chairman to raise interest rates was his most significant move to combat inflation, though this policy contributed to a recession in his final year. His administration also pursued deregulation and energy conservation efforts. Christopher Simmonds writes in the American Prospects' "Jimmy Carter’s Economic Legacy" the following, " Carter’s legacy demands a more critical examination. His presidency, long dismissed as inconsequential, was in fact a pivotal turning point in American history, particularly for economic management. It marked the beginning of a fundamental shift away from the New Deal liberalism that had defined Democratic economic policy for decades, and toward the market-oriented framework that would come to characterize neoliberalism." Life was not affordable under Carter.

Inflation is generally among the top concerns for consumers as it makes everyday expenses, such as gas, groceries, and utilities, more expensive. As prices increase, purchasing power decreases, meaning consumers get less for more money. Investopedia reports, "President Jimmy Carter had the highest average inflation rate so far, with an average year-over-year inflation rate of 9.85% during his term in office from 1977 to 1981." The average cost of a house during Jimmy Carter's presidency was approximately $156,836 in 1977, the median home price when he took office. The average cost of a house during Ronald Reagan's presidency fluctuated, with the median home price at approximately $170,302 in 1981 and $164,614 in 1985. The Joint Economic Committee Republicans in "The Reagan Prosperity" reported, "The Reagan expansion years marked a period of economic progress for middle class Americans. Middle class income increased 11 percent after adjustment for inflation, while nearly20 million new jobs were created. Nonetheless, there are those, such as Secretary Reich, who have attempted to portray the 1980s as a period of economic hardship and decline for most Americans." They conclude, "Liberal critics of the 1980s who argue that the middle class withered are half right for the wrong reasons. The proportion of middle class Americans did indeed decline, but this reflected an upward movement of households into the high income category. Meanwhile, the proportion of low income households declined, as more became middle class. The income growth of the Reagan years boosted the fortunes of Americans at all income levels." Life was unaffordable..

The "Joe Biden economy," also known as "Bidenomics," refers to the economic agenda of the 46th U.S. President, centered on the pillars of public investment, empowering the middle class, and promoting competition. The period was characterized by strong job growth and a record low unemployment rate, but also by high inflation and concerns over the cost of living and national debt. The Heritage Foundation in "The Truth About Joe Biden’s Economy" report, "Inflation rates hit a 40 year high last week, coming in at 9.1%. The cost of everyday staples also increased. The price of eggs went up 33.1%, meat 8.2%, gasoline 59.9%, used cars 7.1% and air travel 34.1%. This is all in addition to supply shortages. Yet as the economy is flashing huge red warning signs, President Joe Biden and his administration are telling us something different." It continues, "Sometimes you can cherry pick data and say, oh, look, this shows, but we've just lived through a stock market crash where the economy's lost $8 trillion in savings. So it's really delusional to say Americans have record high savings when every day that goes by, people are losing their lifetime savings." The average cost of a home has increased significantly under the Biden administration, though different sources provide varying figures. For example, one report states the average sales price rose from about \(\$403,900\) to \(\$516,500\). Another source claims the median price more than doubled, increasing 114.5% since early 2021. A combination of high demand, supply chain issues, and rising interest rates has contributed to these higher costs. Real median household income has declined in recent years, primarily due to high inflation, though there are different reports on the exact amount of loss. For example, one report notes a real median household income of ($74,580) in 2022, down from ($76,330) in 2021, largely because inflation outpaced wage growth. Other analyses suggest a loss of purchasing power or income for the average family, with estimates varying between approximately ($4,200) and ($7,400) annually. Life was unaffordable.

MAGA leadership are sweating and anxious over mid-term elections. There "We might lose the House (of Representatives) in the next election." is as if it is actual news. Alexander Bolton and Caroline Vakil in the Hill's "Republican lawmakers grow alarmed over signs of 2026 election wipeout" report, "GOP lawmakers are growing increasingly concerned over signs the 2026 midterm elections could be a wipeout for Republicans that could cost them control of the House and shave down their Senate majority by two or three seats." They are now triggered by the term :affordability". The term "affordability" has become a central point of political conflict, with the Republican Party (GOP) grappling with the issue and often dismissing or counter-messaging Democratic campaigns that use the word. Recent election losses have highlighted the GOP's vulnerability on the topic of cost of living, prompting internal debate and a shift in messaging. Democrats have made "affordability" a key theme, especially following recent electoral victories where candidates who focused on the cost of living performed well. The Democratic message is that GOP policies make life unaffordable for many Americans, focusing on the rising costs of housing, groceries, and healthcare. Life is unaffordable. Judith Levine in The Guardian's "Republicans are scrambling to reclaim affordability. Good luck with that" writes, "Try as they might to present Zohran Mamdani as the exemplar of their opponents’ radical-left lunacy, the platform the New York mayor-elect and other Democrats won on was affordability – the same platform on which Trump ran, and has spectacularly failed to deliver. So in their panic, Republicans are scrambling to reclaim affordability. They have only two problems: their policies and their president." In their slight, the Radical Left reveal what they fear most: Trump and his policies. They want you to believe that your children can trade Marxism for "affordability". 

Proposed solutions from a Marxist perspective

• Decommodification of housing: The ultimate goal is to remove housing from the speculative market altogether and make it a social good, argues Jacobin.
• Challenging rent and speculation: Policies would focus on challenging the capitalist model of extracting "monopoly rent" through land control and speculation, a key factor in the housing crisis, says Socialist Voice.
• State or collective control: A socialist approach might involve state-led planning to build housing based on need, not profit, as seen in the example of Governor Kathy Hochul's housing policies, though this is a debated interpretation, according to the American Enterprise Institute.
• Socialist organizing: Strategies like advocating for rent control and expanded social housing are seen as important opportunities for building power and fighting for better conditions within the capitalist system, while still holding the long-term goal of a complete transformation of the housing market, notes Jacobin. 

In April 2021, David Hartery of the Socialist Voice, in "Marxism and the housing crisis", writes, "Our cities can never be made really habitable or worthy of an enlightened people while the habitations of its citizens remain the property of private individuals. To permanently remedy the evils of city life the citizens must own their city.” To the Radical Left, the fastest, most efficient means to home ownership is not individually but through state control." Hartley continues, "The second major spin-off of land reform for social housing—its conversion into a route to home-ownership—emerged in the 1930s, though it took a further three decades to fully mature and percolate through the system. The land reform catalyst for this development occurred in 1933, when, following campaigning by the anti-land annuities campaign, led by Peadar O’Donnell, the government was forced to take action and cut by half the outstanding annuities that farmers were obliged to pay arising from the Land Act settlements."

And you flinch!

The last time the Radical Left feli this excited about the US economy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt held the White House and offered the Nation a "New Deal" in opposition to President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt's "Square Deal".Americans surrendered their freedom and liberty for security. Thomas Jefferson said, "I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery," FDR explained the New Deal as a set of programs to provide "relief for the needy, economic recovery, and financial reform". He used "Fireside Chats" to explain legislation like the Emergency Banking Act and encouraged public confidence in banks, which helped stabilize the economy. Later, Roosevelt expanded the New Deal with a "Second New Deal" that included programs for social security, unemployment relief, and labor rights. Libertaranism.org reports, "Since then, dozens of journal articles and several academic books have reported the effects of one New Deal policy after another, and the findings are overwhelmingly negative. The New Deal prolonged the Great Depression by doubling taxes, making it more expensive for employers to hire people, making it harder for entrepreneurs to raise capital, demonizing employers, destroying food, promoting cartels, breaking up the strongest banks, forcing up the cost of living, channeling welfare spending away from the poorest people, and enacting labor laws that hit poor African Americans especially hard." It goes on to report, "The Great Depression wasn’t written in the stars. After all, the severe depression of 1920 was over in about a year. The president then was Warren G. Harding, who succeeded where FDR failed. Harding cut federal spending, cut taxes, and went back to his card games. Harding’s slogan “less government in business” turns out to have been a vastly better guide than FDR’s disastrous “New Deal.” Everybody, especially the poorest among us, is better served when private property is secure, the currency is stable, markets are open, people are free to make their own bargains, government burdens are lifted, and it’s safe to invest for the future."

Revolutionary Communists of America write, "Today, all-out fascism may not be in the cards, but murderous paramilitary reactionaries are already roaming American streets. So what should socialists make of the New Deal and the class struggles of the 1930s, which was the most class-struggle-dense period of American history since the Civil War?

The first lesson is that class struggle—not class collaboration—is how serious reforms are won. Mass mobilizations of the workers, supported by the unemployed and oppressed, won the New Deal reforms. The ruling class knows that there is no way to contain an all-out mass movement of the workers fully, so they may attempt to use partial concessions with co-option to control it. However, this begs the question: where would they find the resources to do anything on a New Deal-type scale given the depth of today’s crisis?

The second lesson is that unless and until capitalism is overthrown through revolution and replaced by socialism, even the most sweeping reforms will always be in danger of being rolled back. Threatened by revolution from below, the modest programs of the New Deal were implemented from above. Without a doubt, this took the edge off some of the Great Depression’s misery—but it left the capitalist cause of periodic crises intact—and passed the buck to future generations."

Each US president faces unique economic challenges, from recessions to inflation and debt. Some key challenges include managing the national debt, which is a significant concern for the current administration, and dealing with crises like the Great Recession, which occurred during the George W. Bush presidency. The overall economic performance under a president is influenced by a complex mix of global events, presidential policies, and inheritances from previous administrations. 

The word "affordability" comes from the verb "afford," which has roots in the Old English word geforðian, meaning "to further" or "to accomplish". The meaning evolved over time to "to have the financial means for" something, especially by the 16th century. The term "affordability" was then formed by adding the suffix "-ability" to the word "afford" in the early 20th century to create a noun. 

This is the classic case of the Radical Left and putting lipstick on the Marxist pig and MAGA too fearful to call it that. America craves freedom and liberty even over material wealth. It's the age old battle of Capitalism versus Marxism. State control versus individual accomplishment. The desperate Democrats are pushing Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals Eleventh Rule: "If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside; this is based on the principle that every positive has its negative." Obamacare is a failure! What is their alternative? Fund it again. When will MAGA tire of running in fear and cowering for the loss? Democratic fiscal policies offer a contrast to Trump's approach by advocating for increased taxes on corporations and the wealthy to fund social programs, expand tax credits for the middle class, and promote fiscal responsibility through revenue generation. Do you want to go back to the Obama-Biden fiscal years? Be patient, your "peace" will come. Your struggle will pass.

I will never sacrifice my freedom and liberty for material security. Neither shall my grandson!

We do just that when we fret over the term "affordability". 

"For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)"