“Affordability” has become the word of the month as American economic anxieties become a major point of political contention between Democrats and Republicans.

Socialist Democrat Zohran Mamdani rode to victory in the New York City mayor’s race in part due to his promise to address the issue. Of course, he offered what socialists have been selling to the public for more than a century: free stuff, all paid for by the “rich,” the “billionaires,” or in Mamdani’s case, white neighborhoods in the city.

But talk is one thing, reality is another. Will the kind of government intervention Mamdani and others are promising deliver positive results for the American people?

So far, it hasn’t. President Donald Trump and those who seek to stem this socialist tide have a serious rebuttal to the idea that the Left can deliver.

At the highest level, it’s Trump’s work on foreign policy, on trade, and the implementation of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that may determine how much the U.S. economy revs up next year. Many Americans are nevertheless discontented with the way things are going. And that is a huge red flag for Trump and Republicans.

A lot depends on what happens to the economy on the macro, national scale, but it’s still awfully rich to hear Democrats suddenly embrace affordability as an issue given their abysmal record on it.

In fact, the huge gap between red states and blue states on affordability highlights the reality of the parties’ policies.

Even some figures on the Left acknowledge that Democrats have a huge problem on the issue.

CNN’s Fareed Zakaria noted this problem for the Left on a recent episode of his show while commenting on the government shutdown that accomplished about as much as Sen. Cory Booker’s record-breaking phony “filibuster.”

He said the shutdown revealed that Democrats have promised big on so many programs, like Obamacare, but the results have been costly and ineffective.

“If America has an affordability crisis, it tends to be in places Democrats govern, like New York, Illinois, and California, which all feature high taxes, soaring housing costs, and stagnant outcomes in basic areas like education and infrastructure,” he said.

Zakaria pointed to New York City, where the incoming mayor-elect has promised a whole host of “free” programs at the public expense. The CNN anchor asked rhetorically, “What happened to the money already raised?”

In 2012, he said, “the city’s budget was about $65 billion. Today it is about $116 billion, an increase of more than 75% in just over a decade. Spending has soared while the subway deteriorates. Housing costs rise and public schools remain mediocre despite spending more than $36,000 per pupil last year, the highest in the nation among major school districts.”

For all the talk of an “abundance” agenda that’s going nowhere, the reality is that Democrat-run cities and states are where abundance is squandered and “affordability” is a slogan to sooth the conscience of the rich as the middle class shrinks and seeks greener pastures.

A study at UC Berkeley released in April noted that the significant gap in affordability between red and blue states has been consistent over the last 15 years. According to the study, “the average blue state was 13% more expensive, overall, than the average red state.”

The study pointed to the cost of housing being the biggest factor, but it’s clear that on a whole host of issues Democrat policies drive up prices.

There’s typically a wide gap on energy policies, with Democrats focusing on various green and “renewable” energy sources. While these government-subsidized industries have often enriched a few, for the most part they have been both cost prohibitive and insufficient for America’s growing energy needs.

“Over the past two decades, the divergence in electricity rates among U.S. states has grown increasingly stark,” noted a paper on electricity costs published by The Heritage Foundation in 2024.

The cost gap was mostly between red and blue states.

“A key factor driving these divergences is the adoption of renewable energy mandates, carbon emission–reduction goals, and cap-and-trade schemes, primarily in states with Democratic leadership. States that have required renewables, particularly wind and solar energy, to be used in electricity production often experience higher electricity costs due to the regulatory burdens placed on traditional energy sources, such as natural gas and coal.”

Even discounting the economic data, the evidence of the divide on affordability can be seen quite clearly on how Americans have been voting with their feet.

An analysis of IRS and census data by the organization Unleash Prosperity found that a “massive shift” in internal migration has been happening in America the last few decades.

“New York and California top the list of exodus states, having lost 1.7 million and 1.6 million people, respectively, over this decade,” read a Daily Signal report on this study. “Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Louisiana, Virginia, and Connecticut round out the top 10 for negative migration.”

Americans are fleeing, mostly to lower-cost states like Texas and Florida according to the study.

What the Mamdanis of the world are promising is a doubling down on the policies that made so many blue states unaffordable for the average American. All they offer is a more aggressive platform of redistribution. But the underlying costs won’t go away. Those policies won’t make energy cheaper, they won’t drop prices at the gas pump, they won’t make homes Americans want to live in any more affordable.

So, if Trump and Republicans want to win over Americans, they need to demonstrate how they can make life more affordable for everyone, in part by doubling down on policies that already work.

If they can’t make that case then we may in fact get the socialist wave we fear in the near-term future.

The post Blue States vs. Red States on ‘Affordability’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.