Making ‘affordability’ affordable again

The main concern I hear from young adults is that everything keeps getting more and more expensive, and they don’t know what to do about it. They don’t think anyone in the political world is listening to their justifiable concerns.

With so much media attention focused on the war in Iran and the left-wing and media fixation on their hatred of President Donald Trump, it is a good opportunity for conservatives to focus attention on the issues everyone is concerned about on a daily basis — their personal and family economic status and prospects.

As one young man said, “Most people don’t care about international issues when they can’t afford a home here, you know!”

Lee Atwater, a noted Republican strategist, would remind his candidates to focus on “jobs, jobs, jobs!” James Carville, the outspoken Democratic strategist, is credited with coining the phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid,” which Bill Clinton used to win the White House in 1992 against incumbent President George H.W. Bush.

With early voting starting in October, Republicans have under four months to capture the support of these worried young voters. Their minds should be wide open to any clear explanation of how conservative policies will help “make things more affordable” just as it was explained to their parents and grandparents before them.

These young adults say discussions with friends seldom focus on the war in Iran, global warming, gender identity, race relations or any other issue prominently displayed on social media and in mainstream media. Their conversations center on what is of utmost concern to them, such as how they are going to purchase their first house, provide for their family and buy diapers for their new baby.

When they hear anyone promise a swift, short solution to their economic problems, usually from the progressive left, it catches their attention at the very minimum. Cancellation of student debt always strikes a chord because it translates in their mind to being able to qualify for a first mortgage or buy a larger home.

What many young people never learn in college or secondary education are the basic fundamentals of how American businesses are set up and run, and what allows them to grow, expand and provide not only jobs but products and services at the lowest possible price to the broadest market.

The “affordability” of anything in the American economy is determined by a wide range of factors, most outside the influence or control of the average person — such as inflation and the ebbs and flows of supply and demand for any particular product or service.

However, the one thing each citizen has control over is how they cast their vote in each and every election. Current American politics can be broken down into two camps — the far-left progressive socialist Democrats who are openly committed to installing far higher taxes and more regulations on everything if given control of government. The second is the fiscally conservative strain of the Republican Party that has historically sought to keep taxes and regulation as low as possible while maintaining a functioning government which benefits us all.

Gas prices are a simple example to see where the impact of higher taxes directly affects affordability. Many people are shocked to learn that in most states, the regulatory and tax cost of each gallon of gasoline equals or exceeds the cost of the fuel which goes into their tank.

For an average rate of $4 per gallon, the crude oil and cost of refining might be roughly $2 per gallon. The remaining $2 per gallon cost is distributed between federal, state and local taxes. In states such as California, taxes are paid on each gallon for cap-and-trade allowances and underground storage tank fees.

Every time a person fills their gas tank, they should realize only half of the total bill goes to oil companies for their expertise in finding, drilling, refining and delivering gasoline to a station nearby. However, they might as well be inserting a personal credit card to send tax revenue to various levels of government for the other half of their bill.

There are taxes, regulatory and legal costs being covered in the price of anything we buy as American consumers. The final consumer is the person who ultimately pays for some share of these burdens since the business builds them into the final cost of the product or service they offer.

The swiftest route for an individual to helping restore affordability is to stop voting for anyone or any party that is committed to increasing tax and administrative costs for anything they wish to purchase.