Blessed money

During the pandemic, in order to counteract the economic impact of COVID-19 on families and businesses, the U.S. government has released trillions into the economy. These funds helped alleviate in some way the negative consequences of the closure of companies and the confinement of many families so that the virus did not hit citizens harder than it did. Unemployment payment programs, loans and subsidies for companies that lost income during shutdowns, and other initiatives related to infrastructure were launched with the approval of the Democratic-controlled Congress and the White House to support the population.

Despite having experts and advisers, the authorities apparently forgot that artificially releasing so much currency come at a cost. In this case, the cost has been an inflation rate that, according to specialists, is the highest in several decades, going back to Jimmy Carter’s four-year term as president. A few years before Carter’s presidency, which most observers believe was far less successful than his ex-presidency, the government decided, under the leadership of Richard Nixon, to decouple the U.S. dollar from gold in order to be able to produce money to finance the war in Vietnam.

Before the pandemic, the issuance of artificial money had not been a great issue for Americans, although the government continues to finance itself mainly through credit and debt.

However, now with the problem of price increases on most products caused by the greater amount of currency in U.S. households, officials have decided to increase interest rates in order to try to resolve an economic problem that is becoming a serious political issue for the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, the American dream of owning a home is getting farther out of reach. Rising interest rates mean prospective home owners need a lot more cash up front to cover their down payment, as well as the cost of mortgages. For example, even with the support of some government programs, if the down payment on a house was around $8,000, that cost has almost doubled to around $15,000.

This has left many of those who belong to the middle class on the outside looking in, particularly when paired with an ongoing housing shortage. The quest for housing is coming down to bidding wars in which only wealthier buyers are able to compete.

Here in the Imperial Valley, the few homes that are being built are priced at more than $300,000, which represents an unattainable price for the middle class, even with support programs.

In this way, the illusion of acquiring a heritage has become a utopia for members of the middle class who have no other option except to continue paying the high price of renting their homes.