Avoiding the Affordability Trap

Specificity, from NewDems and more

For the last year, I’ve felt a twinge in my tummy whenever Democrats say “affordability.”

That may be my Massachusetts bias.

In blue states like mine, it feels like Democrats have spent decades explaining why things should be more expensive.

Of course, Democrats aren’t literally saying “we will make your life more expensive.” But swing voters - despite how much pundits dismiss them as unthinking morons - are pretty quick to translate policies like “we will require childcare teachers to have bachelor’s degrees” and “we’re mandating an extra staffer on every train car” and “let’s add another line on your utility bill for the environment” as jacking up their cost of living.

That’s why I was thrilled to open¹ The Boston Globe this morning to this front-page headline:

Three years of college instead of four is something that voters can translate into cost savings pretty easily!

My affordability twinge subsided even more later this morning when I caught up on the New Democratic Coalition’s Affordability Agenda, released today along with an accompanying Fox News op-ed from Reps. Nikki Budzinski and Chrissy Houlahan:

More than a year past his self-imposed "day one" deadline to lower costs, President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have not only failed to lower the cost of groceries, housing or healthcare, but are actively and intentionally making life more expensive for hardworking Americans.

This framing - also found in Third Way’s “Ending Trump’s War on the Consumer” - is powerful.

But the best part? Acknowledging tradeoffs, unlike some of the sloganeering from one wing of the party:

“Buzzy sounds good in a sound bite, but you often end up with unintended consequences or unworkable solutions,” New Democrat Coalition Chair Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., said in an interview. “We’re hearing people saying they are frustrated with the bombast, but also the hollow promises, and they want to see their government coming up with thoughtful solutions.”

Specificity - and clarity on tradeoffs - was also found in Monday’s brief from Searchlight Institute on driving down childcare costs by loosening requirements for them to be on the first floor.

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The Affordability Trap

It has been cold as hell lately in Massachusetts, where the state government has given me $5,000 for driving an EV and my energy bill is going to be quite ugly this month.

Pivoting to saying “affordability” three times like Beetlejuice is not going to solve that problem. Even if we froze our electricity rates here in the birthplace of America, the cost per kWh would still be double other states for years.

Blue state voters typically only have one chance to check Democrats in these polarized times: governors. It is not really a surprise that the three states which gave Kamala Harris her highest margins in 2024 - Massachusetts, Vermont, Maryland - all had GOP governors the year before.

Focusing on words alone is a trap Democrats must avoid.

Democrats are the party of the $1.7 million toilet, and it will take a lot to change that - from seemingly small ideas like daycare on the fourth floor to big state-level ideas like three-year degrees and national agendas from pragmatic groups.

1. Getting the hard copy of your local newspaper is good for your health.