This post originally appeared at https://wisconsindailystar.com/commentary/commentary-housing-woes-in-the-heartland/gastarnewsstaff/2024/05/01/

by Steve Cortes

Wisconsin could well determine the next president of the United States. President Trump earned his historic upset victory in 2016 with a win in Wisconsin by only 27,000 votes. Four years later, Biden prevailed there by an even smaller 20,000 vote margin, out of 3.2 million total ballots.

This year’s election figures to be another photo finish. The latest battleground state polling shows Trump up +1% in a multi-candidate field. This polling was commissioned by my populist Right labor organization, the League of American Workers, and queried a sampling of likely voters in Wisconsin that split evenly in 2020 between Trump and Biden.

But as election season heats up and voter attention crystalizes on the race, Trump occupies the more enviable political position mainly because of the economy. Despite constant media narrative pretending the “Bidenomics” works for regular citizens, the hard-working laborers of America know all too well that they are falling behind. Pay increases have not kept pace with the torrid level of inflation under Biden, and everyone but the corporate media recognizes this harsh reality.

This crash in Real Wages reflects the same problems that make housing so unreasonably priced right now. Asset prices inflate and working-class people cannot handle Biden’s inflationary nightmare, even for the staples of life like shelter. In fact, America endures a crisis of affordable housing, and voters are well aware of this financial squeeze on their standard of living.

In our poll, a whopping 80% of likely voters said that “quality, affordable housing is out of reach for most Wisconsin families.” That kind of overwhelming supermajority is hard to find in political polling in 2024. We are a highly polarized country that splits roughly 45-45% on most political issues, with candidates and politicians fighting over that middle 10% or so.

But on this issue of housing affordability, Americans reach an unmistakable consensus: there is a massive problem forcing far too many households into a financial corner.

Let’s get specific with the tough math of Bidenomics that proves so crushing to middle income earners across America, including in Wisconsin. In Dane County, home to the state capital and the University of Wisconsin, the average home price just sailed north of $400,000 per house. Salaries are generally higher in Dane County compared to the rest of Wisconsin, but not by that much.

Few buyers can afford the recommended 20% down payment, which equates to $80,000 in cash. But, if a saver can make that substantial down payment, then they are still too strapped to afford housing. Specifically, with median household income around Madison of $84,000, then the monthly mortgage payment would be nearly 40% of monthly income, far above the 30% ceiling recommended by personal finance experts.

So, many anxiety-ridden households turn to debt financing by necessity, including dangerous high-interest credit card debt. As delinquencies rise, workers grapple to deal with a record-breaking mountain of card debt, $1.13 trillion in total. Since Biden took office, that high-interest debt load has soared by an astounding +47%.

These voters understandably blame Biden for these economic woes. In this Wisconsin poll, the economy continues to provide the most persuasive value proposition for Trump’s candidacy. Likely voters say they were better off under Trump by a wide 15% margin, 54-39%.

Bidenomics fails Americans in the heartland. Affordable housing is out of reach, a consequence of Biden’s profligate borrowing and spending that send interest rates, home prices, and overall inflation soaring. Time to return to the stability and prosperity of Trump’s economy.

 – – –

Steve Cortes is former senior advisor to President Donald Trump, former commentator for Fox News and CNN, and president of the League of American Workers, a populist right pro-laborer advocacy group.

The post Commentary: Housing Woes in the Heartland appeared first on The Wisconsin Daily Star.