TACKLING THE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS Part 3

The U.S. affordability crisis is caused by low pay, high prices, economic inequality, and public policies skewed to favor wealthy individuals and corporations. Here are some strategies for tackling the affordability crisis.

THANK YOU to all of you who participated in or supported a No Kings rally (pro-democracy and anti-Trump) on March 28 in one way or another. Protests are a critically important strategy for tackling affordability and saving our democracy.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me and get notices of my blog posts on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

The U.S. affordability crisis will require multiple strategies to effectively remedy it. My previous post discussed some longer-term strategies and an earlier post some short-term strategies. Here are some additional longer-term strategies. Generally, they require action by the federal government and, therefore, aren’t likely to happen soon.

Here are some strategies for addressing high prices:

Implement a windfall profits tax. The federal government should enact a windfall profits tax to stop price gouging by monopolistic businesses and by ones taking advantage of unusual market conditions. A windfall profits tax would tax away excessive growth in profits and, therefore, discourage price gouging because increased profits would be significantly reduced. However, if businesses continue to charge high prices and generate big profits, the tax revenue from the windfall profits tax could be used to provide assistance to working families facing economic hardship due to those increased prices.

With the spike in fossil fuel prices due to the Iran war, fossil fuel companies are likely to realize windfall profits. Other businesses may use the smoke screen of high fuel and energy prices as a pretext for raising prices beyond what’s justifiable and, therefore, generate windfall profits. The federal government should be prepared to tax those windfall profits and take other actions to keep prices down and protect consumers. [1]
Regulate surveillance pricing. With AI and high-powered computers, businesses gather extensive data on consumers and can then engage in sophisticated and opaque price manipulation to maximize what a consumer will pay (aka personalized or surveillance pricing). Sellers should be required to post prices clearly and provide the same prices to all consumers. This will prevent price gouging, discrimination, and bait and switch strategies that rip off consumers. Junk fees and other abusive pricing techniques should be banned.

For example, Uber and Lyft shouldn’t be allowed to charge you more (as they do) when your phone’s battery is low and they know you are in a hurry to book your ride. And landlords shouldn’t be allowed to collude through a large database of rental properties and AI analysis to jack up rents.

Here are some strategies for addressing affordability in general:

Eliminate the poverty wage business model. At least 16 U.S. billionaires owe their wealth to running corporations that pay workers poverty wages so the workers have to rely on taxpayer-funded public assistance to survive. Eight of these billionaires are associated with Walmart, two each with Amazon and Tyson Foods, and one each with Best Buy, Chipotle, Home Depot, and Starbucks. Large numbers of employees at these firms rely on Medicaid for health care and SNAP for food assistance. [2] Increasing the minimum wage would be one step in ending this public subsidy of corporate profits and shareholder wealth.
Reform the U.S. campaign finance system. Government policies are skewed to benefit the wealthy because of the way we allow election campaigns to be financed. The unlimited spending and lack of disclosure of who is contributing large sums of money have produced politicians and policies that favor the wealthy and their large corporations. This results in lower wages for workers and higher profits through higher prices that benefit shareholders and corporate executives. (See this previous post for more detail and ways to address this problem.)
Reduce economic inequality. Reducing economic inequality would tackle the affordability crisis in multiple ways. Extreme inequality destabilizes democracy, the economy, and society. Shifting some of the tax burden from low- and middle-class households to the wealthy could both reduces taxes for households struggling with affordability and increase the ability of the government to provide supports for working families such as affordable child care, paid family leave, housing subsidies, affordable health care, and a safety net when people hit hard times including unemployment benefits and food assistance. [3] Reduced economic inequality would also reduce the premiumization of the economy that drives prices up. (See this previous post for more detail.)

Many proposals to tax the wealthy are being considered at the state and local levels, [4] as well as at the federal level. At the federal level, the Billionaires Income Tax Act would tax the increase in value of assets (e.g., stocks) even if they aren’t sold. There are also two different wealth tax proposals, one from Senator Warren (D-MA) and Representative Jayapal (D-WA), the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, and another from Senator Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Khanna (D-CA), the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act. There is also the Working Americans’ Tax Cut Act that would shift the income tax burden from low- and moderate-income households to those with incomes of over $1 million.

Reduced inequality benefits democracy and, when coupled with campaign finance reform, would produce politicians and policies that are more responsive to the needs of every day Americans, thereby addressing the affordability crisis. “Highly concentrated wealth leads naturally to concentrated political power.” [5] As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote almost 100 years ago, “We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”

Every politician, at every level, local, state, and federal, who’s serious about addressing the affordability crisis should embrace these strategies. I encourage you to contact your U.S. Representative and Senators and ask them to endorse them. You can find contact information for your US Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and for your US Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

For lots of good news, see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent good news Sunday post here.

[1] Reed, B, 3/25/26, “Dems call for prosecution of corporations using Trump’s illegal Iran war as cover to hike prices,” Common Dreams (https://www.commondreams.org/news/iran-war-price-gouging)

[2] Anderson, S., & James, R., 3/25/26, “Meet the 16 billionaires making bank by underpaying their workers,” Inequality.org (https://inequality.org/article/billionaires-low-wage-workers/)

[3] Meyerson, H., 12/3/25, “The $79 trillion heist,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2025/12/03/79-trillion-heist-worker-pay/)

[4] Meyerson, H., 3/12/26, “Democrats get serious about taxing the rich,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2026/03/12/democrats-get-serious-taxing-rich/)

[5] Bivens, J., 11/17/25, “Raising taxes on the ultrarich,” page 5, Economic Policy Institute (https://www.epi.org/publication/raising-taxes-on-the-ultrarich-a-necessary-first-step-to-restore-faith-in-american-democracy-and-the-public-sector/)

TACKLING THE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS Part 2

The U.S. affordability crisis is multifaceted and has been growing for 45 years, caused by low pay and high prices. Here are longer-term strategies for tackling low pay and high prices. Unfortunately, the Trump administration’s policies are exacerbating the crisis. Please join a protest on March 28.

The U.S. affordability crisis is multifaceted and has been growing for 45 years, caused by low pay and high prices. There are many strategies for tackling the affordability crisis; some are presented below. However, many (most?) of the Trump administration’s policies are exacerbating the crisis. Therefore, one longer-term strategy for tackling affordability would be to participate in a No Kings rally (pro-democracy and anti-Trump) on Sat., March 28. Find an event near you here.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me and get notices of my blog posts on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

The U.S. affordability crisis is multifaceted and caused by low pay and high prices. My previous post discussed short-term strategies that would increase low pay including: [1]

Reduce wage theft.
Raise the minimum wage.
Enact family-friendly policies including subsidies for child care and paid family leave.
Strengthen unions and union organizing.
Reform tax systems.

These strategies can be undertaken at the state and local levels now but would benefit from or require changes in federal laws or enforcement to be most effective. This probably won’t happen until Democrats take control of Congress and the presidency. Therefore, they and the other strategies in my previous post are also longer-term strategies.

There are other longer-term strategies for addressing low pay. Generally, they require action by the federal government and, therefore, aren’t likely to happen soon. They include:

Trade treaties that include standards for workers. These standards could include standards for working conditions, the ability to unionize, and minimum wage levels. Such standards would prevent unfair overseas competition for U.S. workers, which undermines pay and working conditions here in the U.S.
Antitrust law enforcement so there is more competition for workers among employers.

There are many strategies for addressing high prices. Some are potentially short-term but given that they typically require action by the federal government, they aren’t likely to happen soon. They include:

Rescinding tariffs.
Enforcing antitrust laws so there’s competition based on the price and quality of goods and services, as well as on customer service. Poor customer service is not only frustrating but a tax on our time. We’ve all spent hours on the phone, much of it often waiting for a real person, trying to resolve a credit card problem, a denial of coverage for health care, or a problem with a purchase.
Reforming our health care system so the costs of insurance, services, and drugs are at levels comparable to those in every other wealthy country, which are dramatically lower than they are here.
Ending the vulture capitalism of private equity financing. Saks Fifth Avenue is the latest in a long list of retailers that have gone bankrupt after being pillaged by private equity financiers. The list includes Sears, Toys ‘R’ Us, Kmart, Sports Authority, RadioShack, RJR Nabisco, Barneys, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Hudson’s Bay, Payless, Joann Fabrics, Party City, Red Lobster, and on and on. The loss of retailers due to private equity vulture capitalism raises prices, costs workers their jobs, undermines communities, and reduces government tax revenue. [2]

The private equity financiers’ model is to buy a company using lots of debt; sell off its assets (often real estate) and pocket the money; charge the company exorbitant management fees, rent, interest, and other expenses; fire employees, slash pay, and cut their benefits including gutting their pensions; and file for bankruptcy while walking away with hundreds of millions of dollars. The private equity financing model is only possible because of loopholes in securities and bankruptcy laws, as well as the unlimited tax deduction allowed for interest payments on debt.

Senator Warren’s (D-MA) Stop Wall Street Looting Act would put an end to the private equity model by stopping these abusive practices and making the private equity financiers personally liable for damages and losses. [3] Private equity financiers are buying up and bankrupting or charging exorbitant prices (while often degrading quality and service) in health care, nursing homes, trailer parks, pest control, veterinary practices, youth sports facilities, fire truck manufacturing, restaurant chains, prisons and detention facilities, and anything else out of which they can squeeze a profit.

Stopping corporate investor purchases of housing. Corporate investors (as opposed to residents or community members) own nearly 450,000 single family homes, more than 2.2 million apartments, and more mobile home communities than anyone else. In 2025, they bought nearly one out of every six homes sold. Consequently, costs for residents go up (e.g., rents and fees) while maintenance often goes down. Evictions go up. Meanwhile the investors take advantage of federally backed mortgages meant for home owners and other federal tax breaks at taxpayers’ expense. Senator Warren’s (D-MA) American Homeownership Act would end these abusive practices and invest in building homes that working families can afford. It has just been passed in the Senate with a large, bipartisan vote, 89 to 10. [4]

Every politician, at every level, local, state, and federal, who’s serious about addressing the affordability crisis should embrace these strategies.

I encourage you to contact your U.S. Representative and Senators and ask them to endorse these strategies for tackling the affordability crisis. You can find contact information for your US Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and for your US Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

For lots of good news, see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent good news Sunday post here.

My next post will discuss additional strategies for tackling the affordability crisis.

[1] Meyerson, H., 12/3/25, “The $79 trillion heist,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2025/12/03/79-trillion-heist-worker-pay/)

[2] Kuttner, R., 1/20/26, “Private equity Saks another retail outlet,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2026/01/20/private-equity-saks-another-retail-outlet/)

[3] Warren, E., 10/10/24, “Warren, Lawmakers Renew Legislative Push to Stop Private Equity Looting,” (https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-lawmakers-renew-legislative-push-to-stop-private-equity-looting)

[4] Kuttner, R., 3/13/26, “Elizabeth Warren’s Amazingly Progressive Housing Bill,” (https://prospect.org/2026/03/13/elizabeth-warrens-amazingly-progressive-housing-bill/)

TACKLING THE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

The U.S. affordability crisis has been growing for 45 years due to low pay and high prices. Here are some strategies for tackling it by increasing low pay that can be done at the state and local levels now. Unfortunately, Trump administration policies are exacerbating the crisis.

The U.S. affordability crisis is multifaceted and has been growing for 45 years, caused by low pay and high prices. There are many strategies for tackling the affordability crisis, some are presented below. However, many (most?) of the Trump administration’s policies are exacerbating the crisis. Therefore, one longer-term strategy for tackling affordability would be to participate in a No Kings rally (pro-democracy and anti-Trump) on Sat., March 28. Find an event near you here.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me and get notices of my blog posts on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

The U.S. affordability crisis is multifaceted and caused by low pay and high prices. (Previous posts have discussed the factors leading to low pay and the reasons for high prices.) This post will discuss short-term strategies for increasing low pay. Many of these strategies would benefit from or require changes in federal laws or enforcement to be most effective. This probably won’t happen until Democrats take control of Congress and the presidency.

Here are some short-term strategies for increasing low pay that can be undertaken at the state and local levels now. [1] Every politician, at every level, local, state, and federal, who’s serious about addressing the affordability crisis should embrace these strategies. The first five should be core policies of the Democratic Party and every Democrat.

Reduce wage theft. Every year, over $15 billion is stolen from U.S. workers by employers who don’t pay the minimum wage, don’t pay required overtime pay, or don’t pay for all hours worked, as well as by ones who steal workers’ tips or don’t give workers their final paycheck. States can reduce wage theft through better enforcement of existing laws and strengthening laws, including by increasing penalties for violations. [2]
Raise the minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is only $7.25 an hour. If it had kept pace with workers’ increased productivity since the late 1960s, it would be over $24 an hour. The highest minimum wage in the U.S. is in Tukwila, WA, where it is $20.29. In D.C., it’s $17, while in Washington State it’s $16.28, $16 in California and $15 in Massachusetts. State and local governments can and should increase their minimum wages now.
Enact family friendly policies. Subsidies for child care are provided by the federal government and several states but typically fall well short of making child care affordable for many low- and moderate-income families. Some states and Mamdani in New York City are working to make child care free or at least affordable for all families. These policies have substantial economic benefits as they allow parents to remain in the workforce.

Paid family leave for the birth of a child exists in thirteen states and D.C., although not at the federal level. The U.S. is one of less than half a dozen countries in the world – and the only wealthy one – that does not have paid family leave.

Many wealthy countries provide a family allowance (i.e., cash benefits) for each child in a family. Proposals have been put forward in the U.S. for a $5,000 per year per child allowance. This could be achieved by increasing the child tax credit and making it fully refundable (i.e., a family who owes less in taxes than the amount of the credit would get a cash payment).

Strengthen unions and union organizing. Labor laws and enforcement of them need to be changed to make it easier to form a union and to require employers to sign a contract with unionized workers within a set time limit (e.g., 90 days) or to go to compulsory arbitration. Penalties on employers for violations of labor laws must be swift and significant. Much of this needs to happen at the federal level but states can act too. There’s strong support for unions among the public; they receive 70% approval ratings in polls.
Reform our tax systems. This is something that needs to happen at the federal level, but also at the state and local levels. Income taxes on wealthy individuals and businesses, particularly multi-national corporations, need to be increased. They have been declining for decades and dramatically so in President Trump’s two terms. Incomes should be taxed in a progressive manner (i.e., higher tax rates for higher incomes). Furthermore, there is no reason income made through gains on the sale of assets (i.e., capital gains) should be taxed at a lower rate than income earned from work, as is the case today. This is a tax break for the wealthy that was probably never fair and is inexcusable given the current economic inequalities and the affordability crisis for low- and middle-income households.

Wealth (not just income) needs to be taxed, including increases in wealth, which are functionally income even if assets are not sold. Inheritances and transfers of appreciated assets (which currently avoid any tax on their increased value) should be taxed. The most common form of middle-class wealth – a home – has what is effectively a wealth tax – the property tax. So, it only seems fair that other forms of wealth, held primarily by the wealthy, should also have a wealth tax.

Corporate income tax rates should be restored to pre-Trump levels at a minimum, and additional steps should be taken to counter multi-national entities’ sheltering of income offshore in low-tax jurisdictions. Stock buybacks should be banned as they were prior to 1980 as illegal manipulation of a stock’s price.

State and local governments can and should reform their tax laws now. For example, California is considering a wealth tax. In NYC, Mayor Mamdani has proposed a 2% surtax on individuals with incomes over $1 million and an increase in corporate income taxes. Massachusetts voters passed a 4% surtax on income over $1 million in 2022. It’s generating over $2 billion a year for education and transportation spending and, contrary to the scare tactics of opponents, millionaires are NOT moving out of the state. Nonetheless, the 5% of households with the highest incomes still pay a lower percentage of income in all state and local taxes in MA than the other 95% of households – 8% versus 10%.

Ban non-compete and mandatory arbitration clauses in employment contracts so workers aren’t prevented from moving to better paying jobs and/or jobs they would prefer. This can be done at the state and local levels, as well as at the national level.
Clarify the standard for who is considered an employee and increase penalties for misclassifying and mistreating workers as contractors rather than employees. This can be done at the state and local levels, as well as at the national level.

I encourage you to contact your state and local elected officials to ask them to increase the low pay of many workers by reducing wage theft, increasing the minimum wage, supporting unions, making the tax system fairer, and enacting or enhancing child care subsidies and paid family leave.

For lots of good news, see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent good news Sunday post here.

My next post will discuss additional strategies for tackling the affordability crisis.

[1] Meyerson, H., 12/3/25, “The $79 trillion heist,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2025/12/03/79-trillion-heist-worker-pay/)

[2] National Institute for Workers’ Rights, retrieved from the Internet on 3/7/26, “Wage theft: Employers stealing workers’ wages,” (https://niwr.org/state-policy-clearinghouse/spc-wage-theft/)

STAND UP FOR DEMOCRACY AND PUSH BACK AGAINST FASCISM

Our democracy needs millions of Americans to stand up for it and to push back against the fascism [1] of the Trump administration and all the Republicans who are supporting it. PLEASE support and participate in a No Kings event on Saturday, March 28, in whatever way(s) you can. You can find an event near you here.

We need to stand up and push back against:

The cruel, illegal, and inhumane actions and detentions by ICE
The inhumane and un-Christian policies targeting immigrants, including refugees and asylees
The illegal and unconstitutional war against Iran and other acts of war
The implementation of and refusal to refund unconstitutional tariffs
The undermining of the United Nations, treaties, and alliances, while supporting and cooperating with authoritarians and dictators
The corruption of President Trump, some of his cabinet members, and his cronies who are putting millions if not billions of dollars in their own pockets
The violations of the rule of law including illegal firings of government employees, the failure to spend funds as authorized by Congress, the attempts and threats to prosecute political opponents, the pardoning of political supporters, the failures of transparency including on the Epstein files, etc.
The unqualified appointees who are harming Americans every day
The voter suppression and efforts to undermine our elections
The racism, misogyny, religious bigotry, and LGBTQ+ bigotry of Trump, his administration, and his supporters
The oligarchy that uses the government and public policy to enrich itself while cutting support for low- and moderate-income households, including cutting access to food assistance and health care
The lies and disinformation the Trump administration spews out daily
The condoning of political violence
The divisiveness and lack of civility of the Trump administration and the Republicans supporting it
All the ways the Trump administration and Republicans are making the affordability crisis worse

The egregious behavior of the Trump regime and the Republicans who support it will stop when enough of us stand up and say “NO!” Please say “NO” by being a part of a March 28^th No Kings protest and in whatever other ways you can.

For lots of good news, see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent good news Sunday posts here and here.

My next post will return to the discussion of the affordability crisis and present some strategies for tackling it.

[1] Fascism is defined as “a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime … that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fascism)