Make America Affordable Again

The American dream is slipping away. In 2025, nearly 75 percent of U.S. households can't afford a median-priced new home, according to the National Association of Home Builders. In New York, median home prices hit a staggering $3.773 million in the third quarter. We're facing a nationwide shortage of 3 to 4 million housing units, but this is just one symptom of a much larger disease.

The real story is broader and more disturbing. The essentials, energy, housing, healthcare, education, are all racing ahead of what families can actually earn. Middle-class incomes have flatlined when you adjust for inflation, while the cost of simply existing keeps climbing. People are putting off everything: buying homes, having kids, planning retirement. Among Gen Z Americans, 84 percent say they're delaying major life decisions because housing costs alone are crushing them.

Here's what most people miss: this isn't just market forces or supply chain problems. This crisis has architects, and they're hiding in plain sight. Big corporations pour billions into lobbying, literally engineering the regulations that strangle their competition, lock out smaller players, and jack up prices for everyone else. In 2024, federal lobbying hit an all-time high. Pharmaceutical and health product companies alone spent $293.7 million shaping the rules in their favor. Over the past decade, the health sector has invested $4.7 billion in lobbying. This is "regulatory capture" in action. Powerful incumbents protecting their turf while prices spiral out of control, inequality widens, and economic mobility dies.

This essay makes a simple but uncomfortable argument: the affordability crisis stems from over-regulation lobbied by powerful corporations, which chokes supply, innovation, and competition across critical sectors. We'll dig into four areas, energy, housing, healthcare, and education, to show exactly how this plays out and what we can do about it. In energy, strict environmental rules benefit big players while your utility bill climbs. In housing, zoning and permitting obstacles (lobbied by real estate giants) prevent new construction. Healthcare prices explode thanks to Obamacare and bureaucratic bloat, sustained by Big Pharma's influence. Education costs keep soaring as union-backed regulations prioritize funding over actual quality. The fix? Deregulation and curbing corporate lobbying to restore affordability. But first, we need to face an uncomfortable truth: big business often lobbies for *more* regulation when it serves them. Economic models prove that stricter rules raise fixed costs that small competitors simply can't absorb. This isn't about eliminating safeguards—it's about dismantling cronyism to make America affordable again.

Energy Prices & Environmental Regulations

Energy costs touch everything. Your utility bill, your gas tank, your grocery receipt, it all connects back to energy. And in 2025, American families are getting hammered by volatile energy expenses that fuel inflation and stretch budgets to the breaking point. Average electricity prices keep climbing, some regions see annual jumps of 10 to 15 percent because of regulatory delays in production and transmission. The ripple effects hit everywhere. Higher fuel costs inflate grocery bills by 5 to 7 percent since transportation is a huge chunk of the food supply chain. Low-income families suffer most, energy expenses can eat up 10 percent of their income, compared to just 3 percent for wealthier households. And with AI driving a massive surge in power demand, we're facing potential shortages that could add billions more to consumer costs if supply doesn't keep pace.

The primary villain? Over-regulation, especially in environmental and permitting processes. Laws like the Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) force lengthy reviews—often 4 to 7 years—for new pipelines, drilling sites, or renewable projects. These delays create artificial scarcity, which pushes prices up. Permitting bottlenecks have stalled thousands of megawatts in clean energy development, even as demand keeps growing. Look, these rules were meant to protect the environment, but they've gone beyond what's necessary. Overlapping federal and state requirements create mountains of unnecessary red tape.

Big business lobbying makes everything worse. Major energy corporations, ExxonMobil, renewable giants like NextEra Energy, spend hundreds of millions every year shaping regulations that cement their dominance. Fossil fuel firms lobby for tax breaks and lease sales on federal lands. The Trump administration's "One Big Beautiful Bill" mandated new oil and gas leases while handing out tens of billions in incentives. At the same time, these companies push for rules that crush smaller competitors, like stringent emissions standards requiring massive capital investments that only large firms can afford. Renewable companies lobby for subsidies that lock in their market share and push out innovative startups. It's a brilliant strategy: seek deregulation for yourself while endorsing barriers for everyone else. The result? An oligopolistic market. And here's a kicker, utilities charge customers for their lobbying costs in states without prohibitions, adding hidden fees to your bills. The energy sector's hundreds of millions in lobbying in 2025 alone shows how corporations use influence to keep prices high.

The impact is crystal clear. Regulated scarcity drives up costs and feeds broader inflation. In 2025, policies like Natural Gas Act amendments, lobbied by big energy, prioritize global profits over domestic affordability by controlling export approvals. Project 2025's energy blueprint emphasizes fossil fuels, risking that we'll lose renewable markets to competitors like China while keeping U.S. prices elevated.

We need bold, immediate, comprehensive solutions to break this cycle of scarcity and cronyism. First, streamline permitting across all energy sources to a maximum of 18 months. Create a "one-stop-shop" federal agency that consolidates NEPA, Clean Air Act, and state reviews into one transparent process with hard deadlines. This mirrors what works in Texas, where energy projects go from proposal to production in under two years. Second, pass a Lobbying Transparency Act requiring real-time disclosure of all energy-sector lobbying expenditures, including indirect funding through trade groups, and ban utilities from recovering lobbying costs in ratepayer bills. Third, implement an "all-of-the-above" national energy strategy that removes subsidies favoring any single technology, replacing them with performance-based tax credits for the cheapest, cleanest kilowatt-hour produced. Fourth, give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) expanded antitrust authority to block mergers that reduce competition and mandate open-access transmission for small producers. Finally, launch a public-private "Energy Abundance Fund" seeded with $50 billion from auctioning unused federal spectrum, offering zero-interest loans to startups deploying modular nuclear, geothermal, or grid-scale storage. These reforms would flood the market with supply, crash prices, and prove that abundance—not austerity—is the true path to environmental and economic prosperity. Without them, energy affordability will remain a distant dream, perpetuating the crisis.

Housing Affordability & Zoning Regulations

Housing should be a foundation of stability. Instead, in 2025, it's a flashpoint of crisis. Median home prices have climbed to levels that make no sense, with sales hitting a 30-year low thanks to high interest rates and shortages. Renters aren't doing any better. Fifty percent of households are cost-burdened, spending over 30 percent of income on housing, with 27 percent severely burdened at over 50 percent. The results? Rising homelessness, delayed family formation, and a generational divide where first-time homebuyers now average 40 years old. That's closer to Social Security than college graduation. We're facing a national shortage of 7.1 million affordable homes for low-income renters. This supply crisis has been building for years.

Over-regulation in zoning, building codes, and environmental assessments is at the heart of this. Local zoning laws restrict density, mandating single-family homes across vast areas and blocking multifamily units. NEPA and state equivalents require exhaustive impact studies that delay projects by years and add 20 to 30 percent to costs. These regulations, supposedly about sustainability, often just serve as tools for NIMBYism, limiting new construction to 1 to 2 million units annually when we need 3 to 4 million.

Big business lobbying keeps this broken system in place. The National Association of Realtors was the top lobbyist in 2024, spending $86.3 million to push policies that protect existing property values and limit supply. Large developers lobby for tax incentives and streamlined approvals for their mega-projects while simultaneously endorsing barriers like historic preservation rules that shut out smaller builders. This creates a market where incumbents control supply and inflate prices. Corporate welfare in the federal budget totals $181 billion annually, including subsidies that favor big firms over affordable housing initiatives.

The toll is enormous. Cost-burdened rates for middle-income renters (earning $45,000 to $74,999) have doubled to 45 percent. In high-cost cities like NYC, this crisis dominates politics as supply constraints drive economic stagnation.

The path forward isn't incremental zoning tweaks, we need a revolutionary supply surge that treats housing as infrastructure, not a luxury asset. Start with a National Housing Deregulation Act that preempts local zoning restrictions in metropolitan areas, mandating "by-right" approval for any project meeting basic safety and environmental standards within 90 days. Pair this with a $100 billion federal loan guarantee program for modular and prefab construction, slashing build times by 50 percent and costs by 30 percent. Eliminate NEPA reviews for infill projects under 500 units, urban density is the greenest form of development. Break the real estate cartel by banning the National Association of Realtors from political spending and requiring all MLS data to be open-source, enabling tech disruptors to match buyers and sellers at 1 percent commissions. Incentivize states with federal highway funds tied to housing production targets, say, 500,000 units per year nationwide. Finally, create "Opportunity Zones 2.0" that waive capital gains taxes for investments in workforce housing in high-cost cities, channeling trillions from Wall Street into homes for teachers, nurses, and firefighters. These measures wouldn't just ease affordability, they'd unleash a construction boom rivaling the post-WWII era, proving that when government stops strangling supply, the market delivers abundance for all.

Healthcare Costs & Insurance/Drug Regulations

Healthcare expenses are eating American budgets alive. Premiums, drugs, out-of-pocket costs, they're leading to bankruptcies and forcing people to skip care they desperately need. In 2025, national healthcare spending hits 18 percent of GDP, yet affordability is plummeting. Millions face premium hikes of 25 to 30 percent as ACA subsidies expire. Subsidized enrollees see their average costs jump from $888 to $1,904 annually, forcing impossible choices like skipping medications. Drug prices remain absurd—U.S. costs run 2 to 4 times higher than abroad for identical treatments.

Over-regulation drives this nightmare. FDA approval delays average 10 to 15 years. Certificate-of-need laws restrict new facilities. Patent extensions grant monopolies. Administrative mandates create bureaucratic explosions. Administrative roles have ballooned to 30 percent of healthcare workers, up from 18 percent before 2010, due to compliance with regulations like HIPAA and billing codes. This adds billions in overhead.

Obamacare, the ACA, is the main culprit behind this price explosion. Yes, it expanded coverage, but it mandated complex requirements that inflated costs across the board. Insurer rate reviews, essential benefits, community rating, these led to premium doublings. The expiring enhanced subsidies in 2025 amplify this further, with average hikes of 26 percent tied to rising hospital and drug expenses. Republicans refusing to extend subsidies makes the spike worse, but the ACA's structure created these high baselines in the first place.

Big business lobbying sustains this disaster. The health industry invests heavily, $293.7 million in 2024 alone, to block price controls and extend patents. Big Pharma companies like Pfizer and insurance giants lobby against imports and generics, influencing everything from subsidies to hospital mergers. This creates massive barriers, reducing competition and crushing affordability.

The impacts? Medical debt crises and coverage losses pushing families to the breaking point.

Healthcare reform needs to reject the false choice between access and affordability. Instead, we should embrace market competition as the engine of both. Repeal certificate-of-need laws nationwide, allowing any qualified provider to open clinics, surgery centers, or imaging facilities without getting approval from incumbents. Fast-track FDA approval for generics and biosimilars to 6 months, with reciprocal approval for drugs already certified in Europe, Canada, or Japan. Legalize direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical imports with tamper-proof tracking, instantly aligning U.S. prices with global markets. Cap patent exclusivity at 7 years for small-molecule drugs and 10 years for biologics, with mandatory licensing thereafter at 5 percent royalties. Replace ACA mandates with a universal catastrophic coverage plan funded by a 2 percent payroll tax, paired with tax-free Health Savings Accounts up to $10,000 annually for routine care. Break hospital monopolies by requiring price transparency for all procedures and banning "all-or-nothing" contracts that force insurers to accept inflated rates. Fund 100,000 new residency slots to end the physician shortage, and allow nurse practitioners full practice authority in all 50 states. These reforms would slash premiums by 40 percent, drug costs by 60 percent, and administrative overhead by half, proving that when patients, not corporations, hold the reins, healthcare becomes both excellent and affordable.

Education Expenses & Funding Regulations

Education costs have gone off the rails. Student debt now exceeds $1.7 trillion. Tuition has outpaced inflation by 170 percent since 1980. In 2025, average in-state public college tuition tops $11,000 annually, while private schools exceed $40,000, putting college out of reach for countless families.

Regulations like accreditation standards and Title IX mandates inflate administrative costs, which now consume 60 percent of university budgets. Federal loan guarantees encourage schools to keep hiking tuition because they can simply capture the subsidies.

Teachers unions hold funding hostage, lobbying to withhold billions even as educational quality declines. U.S. students lag behind in global rankings, with proficiency dropping 10 to 15 percent after the pandemic. Unions like the AFT and NEA spend millions opposing reforms, prioritizing tenure over actual outcomes, just look at their lawsuits against Trump policies. This diverts funds away from classrooms. Administrative cuts get proposed but blocked.

Big universities and lenders lobby for subsidies while restricting alternatives like online schools. The impacts are devastating. Debt delays major life milestones and widens inequality.

The education affordability crisis demands completely reimagining credentialing, funding, and delivery, treating knowledge as a public good, not a gated community. Replace regional accreditors with a national, outcomes-based system that certifies any provider (online, bootcamp, or apprenticeship) achieving 70 percent job placement at living wages within 6 months of completion. End unlimited federal loan guarantees by capping borrowing at $50,000 lifetime and tying institutional eligibility to graduate earnings. Redirect $150 billion in annual subsidies from universities to students via portable "Education Freedom Accounts" worth $10,000 per year, usable at any accredited provider. Require all colleges receiving federal funds to publish 10-year ROI data, including debt and earnings by major, with automatic loan forgiveness for programs below median outcomes. Break union monopolies by prohibiting collective bargaining over curriculum, testing, or school choice, while allowing performance pay for teachers in high-poverty schools. Launch a $20 billion "Skills First" initiative funding 1 million apprenticeships in trades and tech, with employers receiving tax credits for training. These reforms would collapse tuition by 50 percent, align education with labor market needs, and prove that when students vote with their dollars, excellence and affordability follow.

We Need To Responsibly Deregulate 

The affordability crisis isn't an act of God or some inevitable price of progress. It's a man-made disaster, engineered by a toxic alliance of over-regulation and corporate lobbying that has transformed life's necessities, energy, shelter, health, and knowledge, into luxury goods. For decades, Americans have been told that complexity, bureaucracy, and "stakeholder input" are just the cost of living in a modern society. But the evidence is undeniable now: every dollar spent complying with a regulation lobbied by a Fortune 500 company is a dollar stolen from a child's education, a family's home, or a senior's medicine.

But here's the "aha" moment that could spark a national renewal: the same system that created this crisis contains the seeds of its own destruction. The regulations strangling supply weren't written by voters or even legislators—they were ghostwritten in corporate boardrooms and rubber-stamped in exchange for campaign cash. Reverse the incentives, and the entire structure collapses. When permitting takes 90 days instead of 7 years, when any entrepreneur can open a clinic or build an apartment building, when drugs cost what they cost in Canada, and when a credential costs $5,000 instead of $50,000—the market will deliver abundance faster than any government program ever could.

This isn't a pipe dream. It's a blueprint. States like Texas and Florida have already slashed energy and housing costs through deregulation. Countries like Germany and Switzerland deliver world-class healthcare and education at half our price by rejecting American-style cronyism. The technology exists, modular homes, telehealth, AI tutors, to make these sectors 10 times more efficient. All that stands in the way is political will.

Imagine the America that emerges when a young couple can buy a home on a single income. When a cancer diagnosis doesn't mean bankruptcy. When a high school graduate can earn $80,000 in their first year without any debt. When electricity is so cheap that AI data centers power the next industrial revolution from rural towns. This isn't utopia. It's the natural state of a free economy unburdened by captured regulators.

The choice is binary: continue subsidizing scarcity, or unleash abundance. We have the tools, antitrust enforcement, lobbying caps, supply-side deregulation, and the moral clarity to call cronyism what it is. The only question is whether we have the courage to use them. History will record 2025 as the year America either reclaimed its birthright of opportunity or surrendered it to the highest bidder. The crisis is real. The solution is radical. The moment is now.