Reviewing 2024 in inflation, housing, and health care

As we close out 2024, FREOPP scholars look back at how Americans at or below the median of wealth and income fared in several key areas of public policy:

A year of inflation inequality: As the issue at the top of voters’ lists of concerns, inflation dominated the 2024 presidential campaign. While overall inflation declined from its 40-year peak this year, FREOPP Visiting Fellow Jackson Mejia examined the year in inflation inequality and found that it increased across income groups. Lower-income households experienced higher inflation rates compared to higher-income groups, with the gap exceeding 70 basis points between the second and top income deciles. The compounding nature of the problem makes it especially important to consider the lower end of the income distribution in economic recovery efforts.

The year in housing policy: Among 2024’s many housing stories, FREOPP Research Fellow Roger Valdez contends that two stand out nationally. The biggest housing news of the year was the U.S. Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision, which allowed municipalities to enforce anti-camping ordinances against homeless individuals. While it offered no policy prescriptions, the ruling highlighted the dead end the country has hit when it comes to homelessness and the urgent need for new and unconventional solutions. Meanwhile, Roger identified the Federal Trade Commission’s actions against housing providers who use data analytic software to help them set rental prices as the worst housing policy of the year. Looking ahead to 2025, he urges policymakers to expand and reform community land trusts and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits as simple but important ways to increase the supply of housing and ensure it remains affordable for those who need it most.

Are Medicare’s drug pricing negotiations working? The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enacted in 2023, introduced measures to reduce prescription drug costs, including allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with manufacturers to reduce prices on ten high-cost medications. One year in, FREOPP Visiting Fellow Grant Rigney checked in to see whether the IRA is saving money for patients and taxpayers. His findings? Preliminary data indicates that negotiations have led to modest price reductions in treatments for chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and arthritis, although the final tally may be less than anticipated. For a bigger impact, lawmakers should expand the pool of drugs subject to negotiation.

Has religious diversity weakened America? Pluralism is one of FREOPP’s founding values, and we believe it is a crucial part of why America is the strongest and wealthiest nation in the history of the world. That’s why FREOPP President Avik Roy welcomed an invitation from the Ethics and Public Policy Center to debate R. R. Reno of First Things on an important question of pluralism: “Has religious diversity weakened America?” Avik argues that religious institutions are the most robust in societies where religious competition is the most robust, and that while increased secularization may pose new challenges for America, these challenges are not a product of religious diversity.

→ View the full debate and hear all the arguments from both sides on YouTube.

Thanks for keeping up with FREOPP—have a great weekend, and Happy New Year!

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