Many politicians are so superficial that they’re inclined to latch on to a popular buzzword — in droves — to sustain their power over the masses. “Affordability” is now filling that need. Ignorance of economic reality is sustaining this process.
There are two significant concepts that pull the rug out from under this pathetic hoax: consumer sovereignty and the principle of substitution. Consumer sovereignty simply means that free people get to choose how they spend their money. Necessities such as food and shelter tend to dominate these choices, but Americans, being the beneficiaries of the prosperity that comes with freedom, have room for other items in their budgets. The principle of substitution means that a consumer gets to choose from a multiplicity of similarly priced options — that they will ultimately spend their money on.
All of this freedom, for the political world, is the problem. People still get to live their own lives. How anti-progressive can this be?
Harping on “affordability” is intended to lead to adopting the long worn out means for suppressing market forces known as “price controls.” The folly of this form of demagoguery was showcased in Studs Terkel’s The Good War. First, he provides a statement from John Kenneth Galbraith, breathlessly extolling the virtues of government-imposed price controls during the days of rationing caused by a profound national emergency. After all, the American people still managed to survive during such trying times.
Immediately after Galbraith’s presentation, Terkel posted a statement from the humble owner of a neighborhood grocery store. In it, he first tells of what happened to a can of pork and beans: Yes, the price of the can didn’t change. But in the can was less pork and fewer beans, and a lot more water. Also, since his store was closed on Sunday, black marketeers took it over to sell otherwise rationed meat. And the line of eager customers stretched around the block. Talk about consumer sovereignty.
To further deceive the public about affordability, the “news” media make no distinction between true inflation due to government carelessly increasing the money supply and price increases caused by shortages resulting from various causes. The bottleneck at the Strait of Hormuz has nothing to do with public debt and deficit spending. And yes, the bump up in petroleum has increased the cost of all forms of transportation, including produce and many other commodities being delivered to retail stores.
Now back to my original point: Leftists are confined to a pre-determined position. This can easily be described as conformity. Rather than be confined by the “arbitrary” dictates of reality, leftists close ranks and join in with mutual agreement. They have become carbon copies of one another. Their policy positions are pretty much pre-packaged — so they all seem to agree with one another on everything. The package includes opposition to white supremacy, corporate greed, and global warming, while strenuously extolling the benefits of “affordability.”
Instead of offering commonsense solutions to obvious problems, they keep pushing free stuff and victimhood. And guess what: It’s not working. Beyond the devoted automatons, sentient beings are abandoning the deranged demagoguery of what used to be a sort of credible major party: the Democrats.
Hellbound and Down 