Democrats and Affordability Part 1

Democrats are the masters of "projection."  In the language of politics, projection means you take your own characteristic and "project" it onto your opponent.  Remember the kid's game of saying "I know you are, but what am I? when someone criticizes them.  There are so many examples of Democrats doing this but today we'll talk about Democrats and affordability.

What are Democrats to do to win back the House and possibly the Senate in 2026?  Simple, apply the tactic of "projection" and blame Republicans and Trump for higher prices and claim they are the party of "affordability."

It's comical because when we evaluate which party made the cost of living less affordable on a national scale, it's the Democrats.  During the years of the Biden Administration, which we'll define as January 2021 to December 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that prices for all items were 15.77% higher, or roughly 5% year."  As an example, Biden oil policies caused gas prices to go from an average of $3.05 per gallon in 2021 to $4.09 in 2022, which corresponded to the period during which inflation skyrocketed the highest under Biden.

In 2025, President Trump's first year back in office, the Bureau of Labor Statistics say prices rose only 2.7%.  Trump's policies helped drive down prices of some items.  As an example, Gas prices dropped from $3.45 in 2024 to $3.29 per gallon.**  Yet, because prices are up over 18% since 2021, Democrats are blaming Trump for those higher prices.   

If we look at costs on a State and Local level, we find the same thing.  Higher costs happen where Democrats control government. 

People and businesses in States run by Democrats, like New York, New Jersey, California and Connecticut, which emphasize "green energy" sources to create electricity have significantly higher electricity costs than the national average (e.g. NY is 58% higher, Conn. almost double, California - 2nd highest rates in the US).***  Electricity costs impact not just individual ratepayers in their home utility bills but also raise the cost of goods and services provided by businesses, who have to build that into their prices.  These costs are a direct result of Democrats pushing wind and solar energy claiming it reduces costs, even though the facts show otherwise.

Taxes are another factor in driving up cost of living for people.  CPA Solutions points out "If you're considering a move or evaluating your cost of living, understanding local tax burdens is essential."  They listed the five U.S. cities with the highest combined city taxes - NY, San Francisco, LA, Chicago and Philadelphia, where residents can expect to pay 10% to 15% of their total income in state and local taxes.*4  That's a staggering percentage of an individual or families' total income spent on taxes before paying for groceries or housing or utilities or childcare and it's questionable whether residents are getting their money's worth in those cities.

It's not just individual taxes that make living in a location more expensive for people.  Business taxes have an impact as well.  As we learned from Democrats who criticized President Trump's tariffs, taxes paid by businesses are ultimately passed to consumers in the form of higher prices.  The 10 States with the worst Business Tax Climate as measured by the Tax Foundation*5 are Democrat-run, with the bottom three being California, New York and New Jersey - states that are losing companies to Florida and Texas.

There are many other areas where State and local government policies can impact costs but we'll review one - gas prices.  California, Oregon and Washington top the list of States with high gas prices.  Their State governments are controlled by Democrats and have been for decades.  Their gas costs are a direct result of Democrat policies regarding how oil is processed into gasoline, as well as taxes.  Next on the list are Nevada and Arizona, two states dependent on California for their gas supplies, consequently their prices are high due to the policies enacted in California.  Illinois is on the list because they have the highest state and local gasoline taxes in the US.  Other states in the top 10 are there primarily because of geographic location - Alaska and Hawaii are remote, Idaho and Utah are in the Rocky Mountain fuel market "which is smaller and more isolated."*6

Let's recap - at the Federal level, Democrat policies raised prices 15.77% over the course of the 4 years President Biden was in office.  At the State and local levels, Democrat policies result in higher electric bills, state and local taxes costing citizens 10 to 15% of their income, and higher business costs that cause higher prices for groceries and other goods and services, and finally higher gasoline prices.

But remember - Democrats are the party of Affordability.

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Note: I do not include Alaska or Hawaii in any of the above calculations.  Their remote locations are more responsible for their cost of living than the party in charge. 

*Source CPI Inflation Calculator

** Source for all gas price related information: Gas price data

*** Source NY Post

*4 Source CPA Solutions

*5 Source TaxFoundation.org

*6 Source Highest gas prices