Affordability depends on how frequently government meddles with it
Folks who are really smart when it comes to economics are starting to notice something amid this affordability crisis:
[…] We all know that the cost of living has been rising, especially during the Biden administration. But many are not aware of how targeted those increasing costs actually are. Many goods and some services have gotten notably cheaper, compared to incomes, over the last 25 years. Conversely, some services–hardly any goods–have gotten much more expensive. […]
Illustrating that point is THIS lovely graphic based on US Bureau of Labor Statistics data:
The point? Yes, it has one:
[…] One way to look at it is that the most labor-intensive services are the ones that have gotten unaffordable. The other factor is that everything the government has tried to make more affordable, has gotten much less affordable. There is no mystery here: if you subsidize something by adding many billions of dollars on the demand side, and don’t do anything to eliminate obstacles on the supply side, you obviously are going to increase prices. And then, if you are a Democrat, demand even more subsidies: […]
History shows free markets lead to better outcomes for customers while excess government intervention drives up costs, and this column is a nice reminder of the way competition is good for customers. Sadly, even though, according to some, the big issue in the upcoming elections is supposed to be affordability, it appears I will be the first to post a comment.
Your article July 15th, directly discussing a prediction that rising demand caused by data centers is expected to generate much higher electric bills over the next three years only attracted one comment, but I would urge readers to go back and re-read it. While the article discusses the claim that data center demand for electricity is expected to add over $3 billion dollars to electric bills in the next three years, an important topic, the comment raises an issue that deserves a lot more discussion. Why have so many of our elected officials acted like they were representing America’s enemies instead of America’s citizens?
My thanks to Steve Rader for taking the time to point out the fact that the current ridiculously high electric rates we are being charged really go back to the Green New Steal, as I prefer to refer to the ridiculous idea that CO2 is endangering humanity. Eliminate CO2 and you eliminate plants and the plants provide the oxygen people need to survive. Hypoxia, or low levels of oxygen in the body, causes confusion and other issues and is a hazard to human health.
Also, isn’t it odd that America has sent tons of money to China to buy solar and wind equipment so America doesn’t contribute to global warming by using fossil fuels, while China has been using the money we send them to build more coal powered plants? And since solar and wind are intermittent energy sources, we have been asked to pay for backup power generation so we still have power at night, or when it is cloudy, or when the wind doesn’t blow on top of paying for the woefully inefficient solar equipment sold by China?
I appreciate the fact Steve is willing to call out the dishonesty of “special interest enablers” even if they do claim to be Republicans. I particularly appreciate the fact that he named a couple of the many consultants, lobbyists and bureaucrats who have been blowing smoke at the public for years on behalf of their clients and their personal pocketbooks.
In fact, I would suggest if the public wants to better understand politics, they need to look into which consultants candidates are using, because it appears the consultant class has far more control of our state’s elected officials than the voters. Of course they do. Selling influence is how consultants make a living, so if the politicians they support don’t do as they’re told, they take it very seriously. Most voters, on the other hand, have no idea what our government is doing or why because the deep state is real and active at ALL levels of government and in the private sector.