To Fix Inflation, Democrats Should Focus On Housing Costs

But polls are tightening in critical swing elections. A recent Siena/New York Times poll found a massive swing toward Republicans among independent women. And it all goes back to inflation—which was, along with “the economy,” rated the most important issue facing the country. Last week’s consumer price index showed just how stubborn inflation can be, sustaining at 8.0 percent year on year.

But when voters name inflation as their top political issue, it would be absurd to assume they’re talking about the economic phenomenon by which currency loses value because of a mismatch in supply and demand. Rather, they mean the specific way rising prices affect them. And that’s not just one thing—it’s many things depending whom you’re talking to. Beyond addressing inflation itself, the political response to inflation has to address the broadest, deepest manifestations of inflation on American voters. That requires answering a psychological question wrapped around an empirical one. What aspect of “inflation” is the biggest, most common, and most consistent? It isn’t the price of gas. It is—by far—housing.