Cato Podcast How to Fix Washington's Affordability Crisis
Apr 16, 2026
Stephen Slivinski, a housing and zoning economist; Colin Grabow, a trade and transportation policy analyst; and Jai Kedia, a monetary policy researcher. They discuss rising consumer prices, oil shocks spreading into groceries, zoning and permitting reforms to boost housing supply, tariffs and the Jones Act raising food and transport costs, and rules-based monetary policy to improve price stability.
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Affordability Is Multiple Problems Not One
- Affordability is a bundle of problems, not a single crisis spun from one cause.
- Inflation, expensive credit, tariffs/war effects, and structural supply failures (housing, childcare, healthcare, energy) each need different solutions.
Two Principles To Fix Affordability
- Two core principles should guide policy: sound monetary/fiscal policy and more economic freedom.
- The handbook emphasizes rules for macro stability plus supply-side reforms to boost building, production, innovation and competition.
Oil Shock From Iran War Sparked Price Spillovers
- Jai Kedia attributes the recent CPI spike partly to the Iran war driving oil prices and spillovers into fertilizers and groceries.
- He notes why the Fed often ignores oil in policy rules but consumers still feel petrol-driven price rises.