At V.P. Debate, J.D. Vance and Tim Walz Scapegoat Immigrants, ‘Corporate Speculators’ for High Housing Costs
Both candidates at tonight’s vice-presidential debate agreed that housing costs are too high. And both Sen. J.D. Vance (R–Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had their favorite scapegoats to blame the problem on.
For Vance, it was immigrants.
“You’ve got housing that is totally unaffordable because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants to compete with Americans for scarce homes,” said the Republican vice-presidential nominee.
Instead of “blaming migrants for everything on housing, we could talk a little bit about Wall Street speculators buying up housing and making them less affordable,” responded the Democrat.
Neither candidate’s answer is particularly surprising. Vance has blamed immigrants for raising housing costs throughout the campaign. The GOP party platform claims that deportations will help bring housing costs down.
Meanwhile, the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, has repeatedly blamed “corporate landlords” and “Wall Street” for rising rents and home prices. As a solution, she has endorsed capping rents at properties owned by larger corporate investors and using antitrust law to stop landlords from using rent-recommendation software. Walz was merely aping his running mate’s rhetoric.
Vance, to be sure, has also repeatedly blamed institutional investors for raising Americans’ housing costs.
There’s a straightforward logic to both candidate’s claims. Increased demand for housing, whether from immigrants or corporate investors, would be expected to increase prices.
But increased demand should also be expected to increase supply, bringing prices back down.
Corporate investors and immigrants also play an important, direct role in increasing housing supply. Investors supply capital to build new homes. Immigrants supply labor for the same.
At least one study has found that the labor shortages caused by immigration restrictions do more to raise the cost of housing than they do to lower it through reduced demand.
Higher demand fails to translate into supply when the government restricts homebuilding throug
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