The Republicans, Richard Nixon with the opening up to China in the 1970s and Ronald Reagan with the relocation of manufacturing to Mexico in the 1980s, put quantities of products on the market at lower prices than before. This was presented as a gift to purchasing power. It gave people more disposable income. Landlords then raised rents and property prices. In 1980, the average inflation-adjusted rent for an American household was $243. In 1985, it was $432. By 2022, it was $1388.
How Much the Middle Class Paid for Rent in the 1980s Compared to Now – Go Banking Rates: https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/economy/how-much-middle-class-paid-for-rent-in-1980s-vs-now/
New Data Show Just How Much Mortgage, Rent Payments Have Outpaced Income Growth; Some Cities Remain Affordable – CU today: https://www.cutoday.info/Fresh-Today/New-Data-Show-Just-How-Much-Mortgage-Rent-Payments-Have-Outpaced-Income-Growth-Some-Cities-Remain-Affordable
The gains in purchasing power were absorbed by the cost of housing. There was no turning back, and it was no longer possible to raise the price of consumer goods.
After September 11, 2001, the right-wing parties under G.W. Busch played on the fear of identity to restrict legal immigration to the United States. They portrayed foreigners as threatening, as terrorists. At the same time, they have considerably reduced the resources of their labor inspectors. This has led to an explosion in low-paid illegal migrant labor, especially on farms. This has led to lower prices for people’s food shopping baskets. Once again, this has led to a rapid increase in housing costs, as well as rising education and health costs.
Size of U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Workforce Stable After the Great Recession – Pew Research center: https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2016/11/03/size-of-u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-workforce-stable-after-the-great-recession/
The policy of low prices made a large part of the population involved in the exploitation of illegal migrants or cheap workers abroad. Individuals could no longer absorb food or goods produced at the right price because they could no longer pay for housing, education and health. Small businesses can no longer do without illegal labor. They can’t employ legal people at the right price, so migrants take their jobs. If the law were applied to the letter today, all these small businesses would go bankrupt. The big companies blackmail governments by saying that they would raise prices rather than reduce their margins or those of their intermediaries. This makes the whole population involved in human exploitation.
A candidate who fights legal immigration and reduces controls puts more illegal workers on the market. The tougher the immigration policy, the cheaper the illegal work.
To change this situation, housing, health and education can no longer be left to the simple laws of the market. Prices need to be controlled so that people’s purchasing power can afford to buy consumer goods that respect workers, the environment and animal welfare, at the right price. At present, people cannot pay the right price. They are forced to be involved in the system. To combat illegal immigration, we need to reinstate sufficient numbers of labor inspectors to be able to go into factories, fields, restaurants and homes. It’s the assurance of work that pushes immigrants to leave their country. A wall won’t stop them. The images of immigrants being sent back to their countries are nothing more than a show to frighten them and prevent these workers from enforcing their rights (minimum wages, health insurance, unemployment, etc.). This is good business for many businesses and individuals who can’t afford to pay more. It would be better to recover the money from the ultra-rich so that professionals and private individuals can pay for dignified, sustainable work.
The global challenges of labour inspection – ILO: https://www.ilo.org/media/318756/download
Kamala Harris proposes to control these prices.
New homes and end to price-gouging: Harris sets economic goals – BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8xqy0jv24o
Kamala Harris unveils economic agenda cracking down on ‘price gouging’: https://youtu.be/DMrNAMWYTjU?si=PYbBhSjubxIxYVu4
Food for Thought: Immigrants in the Kitchen – NPR: https://www.npr.org/2006/04/06/5327842/food-for-thought-immigrants-in-the-kitchen
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
