Kerby Anderson

Affordability is a major issue not only in this election season but also in the lives of many Americans. Joshua Slocum, writing in The Federalist, argues that “The Real Crisis Isn’t Affordability. It’s Lifestyle Expectation Inflation.”

Two factors affect affordability. The first is the reality of our devalued dollar, which results from the government spending too much and having to print more dollars. The second factor is lifestyle expectation. Yes, it takes more dollars for young adults to buy houses, but it is also true that the square footage of even starter homes is larger. Both are true, but he focuses on the second using three examples.

First is day care, which used to be considered an option and is now viewed as a necessity. Both parents may not have to work, but they assume they must and usually just consider placing their children in expensive, institutional day care centers.

Second is the concept of a starter home. He reminds us that “anyone born in the ’50s through the ’70s remembers a world in which most families bought a house and stayed put. Brothers shared bedrooms; sisters shared bedrooms.”

Two cars in every driveway is a third issue he discusses. “Some of you will remember a now-quaint term: the family car.” Yet, he explains, more Americans expect to be able to afford a car for every driver in the household. Many of us remember using carpools to get to work or even taking mass transportation.

He does acknowledge that housing is often unaffordable, and recent college graduates are swimming in student loan debt. But I appreciate the fact that he is also reminding us that some of the affordability issues stem from lifestyle expectations.