The Real Affordability Agenda

Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election was due in large part to his promises to pursue an America First foreign policy and rein in inflation. One year later, prices remain high, and President Trump is more focused on overseas meddling than on the American people. This has helped enable Democrats to win governor races in Virginia and New Jersey, and self-described Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani to win the New York City mayor race by running on “affordability.”

A Note on Exchange-Rate Notations

One of my undergrad students just asked why the exchange rate notations that I use in my class are different from what he found in the financial press. I was happy for the question. At least one student who tries to square what he learns in class with what he sees with his eyes!

And I think other professors in economics and finance may be confronted with similar questions, wherefore I share his question and my response:

Good evening, Sir,

Government Intervention, Not BlackRock, Is To Blame For The Housing Crisis

Is building more homes not enough? Recently, there have been more and more Gen-Z memes about boomers selling their overvalued houses to BlackRock instead of to young couples, and then the corporation rents the house to the couple for 2x the price. The housing crisis is not a false alarm. The median rent price went up 25 percent in just 6 years. This is a serious economic problem for America.