Rising rent is a large component of today’s inflation. It is a product of increased demand for housing due to the pandemic and constraints on supply created mostly by state and local regulations. As a result, Biden has exactly zero control over it. That won’t stop the GOP from blaming him, of course.
Many commentators blame hypocritical left-wing NIMBYism for the supply constraints. Is that fair?
Not really. To be sure, regulatory constraints designed to protect the quality of life in places like New York and San Francisco do matter. From extensive personal experience, however, I can tell you that Trump-voting reactionaries in suburban and rural areas behave exactly the same way. The interest in protecting one’s neighborhood from the impacts of development is one of the few that crosses party lines.
Development opponents are often caricatured as smug, self-interested people who just want to keep “the other” out. The reality is more complex. The visual changes, additional noise, and overcrowded public facilities caused by some development do, in fact, exist. It is human nature to try and keep them away. NIMBYism will not disappear unless the objecting neighbors are given reason to believe that the benefits to them from additional housing supply exceed the real inconveniences.