Affordability is the No. 1 issue Americans want solved.
Some Republicans seem to think this is a communications problem. They suggest the right messages could help Americans better understand the GOP’s economic agenda. Then, people could stop worrying and Republicans could get back to focusing on politically comfortable issues such as illegal immigration and crime.
This is a profound mistake. Americans know that virtually everything is too expensive, because they buy things. Leaders who assert otherwise will not convince voters to their way of thinking. They will only convince voters that their leaders are out of touch with reality. This is exactly what the Joe Biden administration did. It didn’t work for him. It won’t work for Republicans.
The depth of the affordability problem was driven home for me by a personal letter from a friend in the Philadelphia suburbs. Her name is Betsy. Callista and I first met Betsy at a book signing event in her township.
We got a note from her Saturday which outlined her personal experience with rising prices. She recently received a stack of take-out menus in her mailbox. After being surprised by the prices on the menus, she compared them to some older menus she had.
A plain large cheese pizza in her area has nearly doubled from $12 to $22. A regular hamburger is up to $9.50 from $4.95. A hoagie which was once about $7 is now $14.95. A nearby bagel shop which once sold a dozen bagels for $10 now charges $27. Her local Chinese take-out spot now offers fried rice or lo mein noodles for $17 – items which were once $7.95.
Importantly, Betsy pointed out that if Republicans keep talking about their policies making life more affordable for people – they had better deliver.
“These prices don’t comport with a message of ‘affordability.’ Especially for Americans on fixed incomes. Republican leaders need to be aware of this. Don’t try to sell ‘affordability’ when lo mein noodles cost $17.00 and a plain pizza is $22.00. Ouch!” Betsy wrote.
“Hope this is helpful info. This is what average Americans are experiencing. It’s financially painful and I fear many small family-owned restaurant businesses will end up closing. I’ve personally stopped purchasing take-out meals. Many of my friends and neighbors have also stopped. Bidenomics is still harming Americans.”
Every Republican who thinks affordability is only a public relations or communications problem should take Betsy’s letter to heart. Her experience with price increases in the Philadelphia suburbs applies virtually everywhere in America.
The reality is this deeply painful affordability challenge has been brought on by several generations of bad policies over many years. Prices have risen and buying power has eroded. This was magnified by the Bidenomics disaster.
Republicans must acknowledge this is a real problem. They must also realize that turning it around is going to be an enormously challenging project. It will not be a quick messaging blitz.
They must stop inflation and then pass smart policies to cause prices to go back down – not by government price controls but by fixing the underlying issues driving up costs in the economy.
Further, it will not be enough to bring prices down a little bit, or by lowering some nominal inflation benchmark. People need to feel it. Prices need to keep going down until the American people stop saying affordability is a problem.
This means Republicans need to fix systems on every level. We need a dramatic increase in goods and services and a dramatic decrease in waste and unnecessary costs. This will drop prices by flooding the economy with new goods and services (see the Ronald Reagan supply side breakthrough of the 1980s).
A lot can be done to get prices down. But powerful lobbies and interest groups will fight to keep the prices up. They want the money.
Americans like Betsy are more important than special interests. Period. Congress must fix the systems and processes so that prices come down. Once that is done, the only message Republicans should have about affordability is “we solved it.”
Republicans must make America affordable again – and quit trying to convince people that what they are experiencing isn’t real.
The American people say affordability is the No. 1 issue. Republicans must listen to them – and fix it.
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The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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