The affordability issues facing Americans are almost all driven by government. Taxes and fees are the fastest rising cost. Government policies raise other costs–most notably electricity costs due to renewable mandates. Look at this chart of price changes for various items. Notice all the health care items, those increases are due to government policies, like ObamaCare and to government’s failure to stop the growth of monopolistic large hospital systems. Look at all the educational items, also a government-dominated sector. Housing costs are up because of government policies restricting building of new units and the incredible fees assessed for permitting. Childcare costs rose due to extensive new regulations. On the other hand, the areas where costs are going down have little government involvement. If we want inflation to recede, governments need to cut taxes and fees and reverse policies that raise costs.
