The buzzy word that Democrats have pinned their hopes on

The buzziest political word of the year is “affordability” — it’s the mantra that carried the insurgent progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani to victory in New York City’s mayoral race, and that Democrats across the country have since raced to claim as their own.

“Affordability is the central issue, the central reason to be a Democrat,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren declared in August. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has similarly placed “affordability” at the center of his state housing reforms and his administration’s plan to manufacture generic insulin pens. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison launched his reelection bid this week under the banner of “Afford your life.”

Few candidates or elected officials are willing to acknowledge what many economists say quietly: that prices