GVSU’s Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies hosted a Common Ground panel event, Addressing Affordability.
“Affordability is obviously a multifaceted and complicated issue.”
Dr. David Hebert, is a senior research fellow at American Institute for Economic Research.
“It’s a two-pronged approach. One is that income is obviously going to be relevant to affordability. But also, the cost, and how the costs are spread around society, and how high costs are concentrated in particularly important industries.”
Food, housing, health care, and utilities.
Emily Gee, is the senior vice president at the Economic Policy Center for American Progress says costs are rising beyond overall inflation and wage growth.
“Affordable housing really depends on increasing supply. We have a shortage of about two million homes across America. And so, we don’t have enough the price goes up.”
Gee says intervention is needed in health care where American’s pay more than the rest of the world. Both Gee and Dr. Herbert agree getting policy fixes right are well intended.
“But what we find is that often times policymakers push on what we could call the wrong side of the market. Where there’s a supply constraint, they subsidize purchasing. But that’s only going to bid prices up even higher making the affordability crisis worse.”
Dr. Herbert recommends policy that increases supply creating jobs improving affordability.
