People are divided into two economies right now. For the elite, defined as those living in urban areas with a postgraduate degree making at least $150,000 a year, the economy under President Joe Biden has been great. Seventy-four percent of such voters tell pollsters their personal finances are getting better.
For the rest of America, Bidenomics has been a disaster, with just 20% saying their finances are better than before compared to 40% who say they are getting worse and another 40% who say they have stayed the same.
In no area is this divide more apparent than housing. Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies released a report Thursday finding that a record half of all renters now devote more than 30% of their income to rent and utilities, and a quarter of renters pay more than 50%. Those with the lowest incomes are struggling the most.
There are many reasons why housing costs have skyrocketed under Biden, including local zoning restrictions that make it cost-ineffective to build new apartment buildings.
But plenty of other policies also raise the cost of building new housing, especially ones crafted by Democrats to combat climate change.
State versions of the National Environmental Policy Act empower residents from any neighborhood to stop or delay the construction of new housing for the smallest deviance in the environmental review process.
New energy efficiency standards applied to existing and new apartment buildings are driving up costs, too. Building owners are being forced to invest millions in retrofitting buildings, and every cent of the cost of those upgrades is passed on in higher rent for consumers.
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Considering the high costs of fighting climate change, is it any wonder that when the general public is asked if they would be willing to pay $500 a year in higher costs to fight climate change, just 28% say yes? Meanwhile, 70% of elite households say they’d be more than willing to pay the $500.
If we want to lower housing and energy costs for average Americans we need to abandon climate hysteria and embrace a pro-construction agenda that frees builders and building owners from unnecessary regulation that is only inflicting economic misery on those who are struggling the hardest to make ends meet.