Look no further than the panic buttons that are being pressed by the Biden campaign due to the frustration of swing state voters with housing inflation. CPAC Foundation’s Center for Regulatory Freedom explained recently that swing state residents (including Democrats), are angry about the soaring rent costs in their states and blame the Biden administration for this. The Biden administration is aware of this, and it now acts like a bully in the schoolyard by trying to blame others.
It’s currently trying to portray the algorithmic software used by some landlords to get rough price estimates as the bad guys. The administration says that they are breaking antitrust law (since when is using predictive software against antitrust laws?) The Justice Department opened an investigation and even said that they were breaking antitrust laws.
In parallel, Senator Ron Wyden, D-OR, and other liberal senators have joined forces to provide political cover to the Obama administration by introducing legislation that would outlaw the use of algorithmic software on the housing rental market. Eight Democratic Senators have signed the Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental House Cartels Act. These include Senators Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar.
Politicians love scapegoating. Scapegoating creates sensational headlines, and gives the public the impression that there is something being done to fix society’s problems. Renters will not win if government tries to impose its own operating procedures on the private sector in this business. The Biden administration and larger federal and state governments have always been responsible for the problems.
We all know that the real reason for the escalating rents in certain markets is the government and the regulatory environment which most property owners are forced to live under. Rents are affected by a number of factors including high mortgage rates and inflation, shortages in supply, zoning restrictions, taxes, building codes and property taxes.
Under President Trump, we never faced this problem. Interest rates were at historic lows and the cost of permits and building materials was low, allowing countless Americans the opportunity to become homeowners for the first. They are now barely able pay rent. This stark contrast between regulatory approaches and the results should tell the administration what it must do.
At this stage in the election when the president is unable to form a coherent sentence and is perceived by all parties as not being on board, political survival is the goal, not solutions. This means making excuses and denying any shortcomings. This means lying to the teeth in order to win President Biden’s last election.
I am skeptical about its success. The polling shows that the voters in general are not buying what President Obama and his spin doctors have to say. They are tired of the constant string of rhetorical explanations from the administration and want to see results. Come November, we’ll find out what happens.
