Senator Mike Crapo said in an April 8 op-ed that “access to affordable housing is one of the most pressing issues” he encounters across Idaho. He has asked that Idahoans participate in a housing survey so he can develop policy solutions. The Senator is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over issues that can profoundly affect housing in Idaho–trade, taxes, Medicaid and Social Security. He could actually have a tremendously positive effect on housing availability in the Gem State, merely by using his clout on this powerful committee, without needing a survey.
Donald Trump’s tariffs pose a serious threat to affordable housing by substantially increasing the costs of construction, remodeling and mortgage financing. Crapo could immediately join a bipartisan effort to take back the Constitutional power of Congress to regulate trade and tariffs. Congressional approval of Senate Joint Resolution 49 would terminate the tariffs, allowing Congress to target China with tariffs in specific industries where they would do some actual good. Crapo held an April 8 hearing on trade policy, but gave no indication he supported the Resolution or any other means of stopping Trump’s tariff chaos. Crapo needs to hear from voters on the necessity of legislative action to prevent harmful tariff-related escalation of housing costs.
As Chairman of the Finance Committee, Crapo should shoot down the false claims of Elon Musk that the Social Security system is a “Ponzi scheme” riddled with fraud. Musk has failed to provide an iota of proof. Someone in a position of authority should tell him to provide proof or shut his trap. Social Security is a lifeline for elderly Americans who contributed to the system. Many live from check to check, depending on those payments to stay in their homes or apartments. As Musk has rifled through the private personal information of older Americans, he is causing the system to break down. If retired folk lose their housing as a result of his misconduct, there really will be a crisis.
The Republicans in Congress seem intent on savaging another program that provides housing to senior citizens of modest means. Medicaid is the primary payer source for 65% of the residents in Idaho’s certified nursing facilities. If Crapo and other GOP members of Congress cut $880 billion out of the Medicaid program to finance tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, it is not clear where those folks will find alternate housing.
Strangely, Crapo’s April 8 op-ed transitions from housing affordability to the issue of those tax cuts for the rich. Crapo is desperate to permanently extend the 2017 tax cut law that was massively skewed in favor of the top one percent. It has been reliably estimated that extension of the tax cuts without commensurate cuts in spending would add $4.5 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years and $37 trillion by 2054. The debt currently stands at $36 trillion. The richest 5% of Americans would receive 40% of the benefits of extension in the first year alone.
Senator Crapo has been the leading advocate for a smoke-and-mirrors budget policy that would essentially ignore the fact that spending would exceed revenue by more than $4 trillion over 10 years. Crapo is championing the “current policy baseline” that essentially overlooks the effect of adding unlimited years to the 2017 tax cuts. Prominent GOP budget experts say it would be a “recipe for disaster, a fiscal Pandora’s box.” The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has called the scheme “ a blueprint for miring us in even more debt.”
It may be that Crapo is merely looking out for the housing interests of the super rich, making sure that they have opulent housing options around the globe. For the ordinary American, the tax scheme does not offer much tax relief and it certainly does nothing to address the affordable housing issue.
Were Congress to adopt Crapo’s fiscally-irresponsible budget gimmick, borrowing cost would rise out of sight, endangering everyone’s access to reasonable mortgage rates for housing. With the burgeoning national debt and reluctance of investors to continue financing America’s massive and growing debt, lending rates for housing will likely rise above the reach of most Americans.
