How Republicans Can Take Back The ‘Affordability’ Issue

Tuesday’s midterm bloodbath continues a string of successes for socialist candidates that is upending traditional politics. For generations, Americans believed that if they worked hard enough, they could live the life of their dreams. However, the American dream has faded for many, as the cost of living rises and the hallmarks of success, such as a home and a family, become a mirage. Many families have gone from one-income households to two working parents striving to make ends meet, struggling to find time to see their children if they choose to have them at all.  

Democrats, and socialists in particular, see this change and promise a better life for more people while Republicans struggle to engage or dismiss the problem altogether. The affordability crisis is real. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll in February found that the American dream is slipping away for many middle-class families. Of those polled, 74 percent found a new car unaffordable, and, for those renting, 65 percent saw no prospect of owning a home.  

The rising prices of gasoline and other goods, thanks largely to the Iran war and tariffs, pulled the American dream even further from them. Americans reelected President Trump and congressional Republicans in 2024 on promises to lower the cost of living and keep America out of foreign wars. Since then, their policies have made things worse.  

Analysis by the Federal Reserve found that the president’s “Liberation Day” and other tariffs increased prices on consumer goods by 3.1 percent as of February, with 90 percent of tariffs being passed on to consumers. Energy prices also surged since the president launched the war in Iran in February, making life harder still for most Americans as he veered between threats of attack and signs of peace.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, gasoline prices were 34.2 percent higher in September compared to last year, and fuel oil was 74.2 percent higher. In addition to prices at the pump, Americans have also paid more for air travel, shipping, and day-to-day consumer goods. Americans are making tough choices every day, unhelped by the president’s glib comments that “we’re going to have to pay a little bit more” for a drawn-out war they didn’t believe in or support.

These concerns and others explain why affordability was at the top of the agenda for so many voters — and why voters so resoundingly rejected Republicans. Democrats such as Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed promise “Medicare for All,” affordable housing, and tuition-free universities, all with a bigger government funded by higher taxes and, inevitably, debt the country can’t afford. It’s socialism with a friendly face, and we know how it ends.

If Republicans have any chance of survival, they must create and promote policies of their own that respond to these issues and make America affordable again.

Make America Affordable Again

First and foremost, the United States must end the Iran war so the Strait of Hormuz can reopen and trade can flow again. This will immediately lower gas prices and ease the uncertainty that has gripped the world.  

Longer term, market-based approaches can increase affordability by lowering prices and the actual cost of living. This means more people can afford to live without relying on subsidies that ever-growing governments cannot afford. Policies to address these challenges are already out there and deserve more attention for their potential. These policies largely focus on disruptive innovation, where low-cost solutions provide an alternative to the high-cost status quo.  

Education

We see this in education, for example. Polling by the National Parents Union found that 76 percent of parents considered the cost of a college degree a big problem, and young people themselves have campaigned for student loan “forgiveness.” This isn’t surprising, given that fees have risen by 229 percent in public universities and 178 percent in private universities between 1980 and 2025 when adjusting for inflation, compared to median income growth of only 31 percent over this time.

Many companies offer apprenticeships to high school graduates as an alternative to college. This means young people can get the skills they need to thrive without shackling themselves to a lifetime of debt.

Housing

There are similar innovations in housing as well. House prices have soared in recent years, taking the dream of a home out of reach for many Americans. Analysis by TD Economics found that house prices rose by 48 percent for single-family homes nationally since 2019, reaching as high as 82 percent in New York.

The Brookings Institute found that mass immigration, legal and illegal, contributed to 94 percent of population growth in major metro areas in 2023-24. Only one of the 55 major metro areas, Memphis, saw a population decline. The Federal Reserve Board of San Francisco estimated that illegal immigration contributed to 30 percent of house price growth in metropolitan areas, weighted by employment levels, between 2021 and 2024.

The midterm elections signal that immigration levels will likely increase, meaning housing supply must outpace demand to lower costs. This could be mitigated by encouraging movement to lower-cost areas. We see this already, where programs like Tulsa Remote are paying digital nomad workers to relocate, taking advantage of the global platform the internet provides.

New housing designs have also made homes more affordable. U.S. Census data shows that the average manufactured home cost $123,300 in 2024, compared to $405,939 for site-built homes. Manufactured homes have also evolved from the “trailer homes” of old to Crossover Modern Homes (CrossMod) that resemble site-built homes and qualify for traditional mortgages. The bipartisan “ROAD to Housing Act,” passed earlier this year, will increase access to manufactured homes among other policies to lower housing costs.

Health Care

Finally, market-based approaches can also lower costs of health care. Obamacare, passed in 2010, promised better access to care at lower costs, but instead, costs have predictably risen. The Commonwealth Fund reports that households in nearly half of U.S. states were underinsured because of high average deductible costs, compared to just one state in 2010.

Obamacare also favors employer-based policies that worked in the 1940s when people had jobs for life, but not so well in the gig economy of today. Exempting individual insurance policies from taxes, as is done for employer-based policies, would increase access to these policies. It would also give workers and businesses alike more flexibility and incentivize a long-term relationship between insurers and patients that encourages preventative care vital to avoiding long-term conditions such as diabetes. Insurers can also work with states and health care providers to create new, market-based payment models that reward results and encourage collaboration. Maryland, for example, has an all-payer system that means hospitals charge the same negotiated rate regardless of who insures them.  

As these show, market-based policies can increase affordability and provide a sustainable alternative to the socialism promised by many Democrats. Republicans must acknowledge this problem at a national level and make an alternative that resonates with voters who no longer see “socialism” as the bogeyman it was in the Cold War era. If they don’t, America will follow the path of Europe and will very likely share its fate.

Tony Perry is an analyst and author from Oklahoma living in England. His books include A Father’s Choice, a memoir describing abortion from a man’s point of view.