What Do Zoning Laws and the Fed Have to Do With National Security?

Regulations and high-interest rates disincentivize new construction to bust inflation and strengthen the economy

A view of houses in a neighborhood in Los Angeles on July 5, 2022. Frederic Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

Inflation is hitting us at the gas pump, supermarket, as well as mortgage and rent. While the Federal Reserve (Fed) tries to beat inflation by increasing interest rates, that actually makes mortgage and rent payments worse, not better. Average mortgage payments at the mean have increased by almost 60 percent since the fourth quarter of 2020. Asking rent increased by about 10 percent over the same period.