Government Policy, Not Capitalism, Caused the Affordability Crisis—So More Government (Socialism) Will Worsen It
Source: "Democratic Socialists of America capitalize on affordability crisis | Fox News." August 13, 2026. www.foxnews.com
The Gist
The author argues that expensive burritos and rising costs of everything else are caused by government overspending, money-printing, and minimum wage laws—not by greedy corporations or capitalism. She warns that turning to socialist policies (like those from the DSA) to fix this problem is like asking an arsonist to put out the fire they started, since it would mean even more government intervention, which she claims is the real cause of unaffordability.
Conclusion
The solution to the affordability crisis is less government intervention, not more (i.e., not the socialist policies pushed by the Democratic Socialists of America)
Premises
- The federal government has accumulated approximately $40 trillion in debt, enabled by the Federal Reserve printing money and monetizing debt
- This money printing has devalued currency and destroyed consumers' purchasing power
- Minimum wage increases artificially raise costs throughout a business's wage structure, not based on market dynamics or productivity, forcing businesses to raise prices
- Other government policies (permitting requirements, sales taxes, compliance burdens) make it harder for businesses to operate, stunting growth and raising consumer costs
- Rising costs in housing, healthcare, insurance, education, and taxes are all direct results of government intervention
- The Democratic Socialists of America's proposed solution to affordability is more government intervention
- Since government intervention caused the affordability crisis, more government intervention (via DSA policies) would worsen it
Assumptions
- Market-driven wage and price mechanisms would naturally produce more affordable outcomes than government-mandated ones
- Government intervention is inherently or primarily the cause of inflation and cost increases, with capitalism/corporate behavior playing no meaningful independent role
- The DSA's specific policy proposals would necessarily mirror the same failed interventionist approaches (debt, money printing, wage mandates) rather than being qualitatively different
- Reducing government intervention would not create other negative consequences (e.g., reduced worker protections, weaker regulatory oversight)
- Voters turning to DSA are doing so irrationally or out of desperation rather than from a reasoned assessment of alternatives