Politicians, especially Democrats, often face two major battles — a disconnect from reality and a misunderstanding of basic economics. Unfortunately, their supporters often believe these misguided ideas, which is why policies that contradict their intended goals gain traction.
Take the current housing crisis as an example. Housing prices have become increasingly unaffordable. NBC News estimates that the housing affordability gap in the United States is nearing a 10-year high. This is largely due to a significant undersupply of homes.
It’s not the job of the government to build housing — it’s government’s job to remove barriers to housing being built.
After the boom-and-bust cycle of the Great Recession, we saw a dramatic decline in home construction. As I mentioned in “You Will Own Nothing,” estimates of the housing shortage range from two million to more than seven million homes, according to sources like the National Association of Realtors, Zillow, and Realtor.com. These figures likely don’t account for the additional housing needed for the millions of illegal immigrants who have entered the country under the Biden-Harris administration.
On top of this, institutional buyers flush with cash have further inflated housing prices, driving them through the roof.
Knowing that housing affordability is a major issue for the middle class, Kamala Harris has made it a central focus of her campaign. Her proposed solution to the unaffordable housing crisis? Make housing even less affordable.
It’s baffling that after experiencing a housing crisis, we still need to explain the problems caused by the government artificially stimulating demand, but here we are. Harris proposes giving new homebuyers a $25,000 credit — paid for by taxpayers, naturally — to purchase a home.
Anyone with a basic understanding of supply and demand can see the flaw in this plan. With a relatively fixed and undersupplied housing market, adding more buyers with extra money will only drive prices higher. No amount of mental gymnastics can make rising home prices equal “more affordable” in reality.
But wait, her supporters say, there’s more! Kamala is also promising to build three million more homes!
While the image of Kamala Harris dressed up like “Bob the Builder” is an amusing one, who the heck thinks that she is building any homes, let alone three million of them?
It’s not the job of the government to build housing — it’s government’s job to remove barriers to housing being built.
But, Harris supporters protest, she will partner with the private sector!
Well, we’ve seen that movie before, and it hasn’t gone so well. The $7.5 billion the Biden administration earmarked for building electric vehicle chargers (a much easier lift than a house) has seen a whopping total of eight (that’s not a typo — eight!) chargers built as of this year.
Senators also sent Harris a letter dated September 18, addressing her role as the “broadband czar” responsible for bringing internet connections to underserved communities. Despite $42.45 billion being earmarked for this project, reportedly little to nothing has been accomplished.
So how exactly is she planning to build an additional three million homes? I have more confidence in finding a penguin in a desert than in Kamala Harris adding three million homes to the existing inventory.
The National Association of Home Builders estimates that government regulations add nearly $94,000 to the cost of an existing house. The government certainly has a role to play in removing barriers to building new homes, but Harris has proposed none of these solutions.
Trying to solve problems by making them worse is quintessentially a government stance, and Kamala Harris is predictably offering more of the same. The government is only good at building more government — a barrier to success and opportunity — and dependence, not homes. Kamala Harris’ proposals show that nothing she offers would change that.
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