Consider a riddle: What is the thing that sounds like inflation but isn’t, and is in fact nearly impossible to disprove with data showing inflation has cooled? It’s “affordability,” the Bête noire of incumbent politicians and the emerging political buzzword of 2025—and potentially far beyond.

Affordability emerged as the common theme of Democrats’ sweep of the November off-year elections, with progressive Zohran Mamdani of New York and centrists Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia emphasizing its importance. Most recently, the Mamdani-like Katie Wilson of Seattle , a 43-year-old never elected to any office before, rode affordability to a shock victory in the Emerald City’s mayoral race.

One leading economist, Paul Donovan of UBS, warned on Friday that

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