Blue-state energy mandates and deficit spending undermine Democrats’ affordability claims

Virginia and Pennsylvania reveal how progressive policies drive living costs higher

Democrats have a new buzzword: “affordability.” Democratic strategists say “moderates” will lead the way to a more affordable cost of living for Americans, but those promises collapse into the same tax-and-regulate agenda wherever Democrats gain full control of the state government.

Virginia is the latest test case. Divided government was a reality in the Old Dominion until Gov. Abigail Spanberger won by selling herself as a “passionate pragmatist.” What Virginians got instead is the same out-of-control tax policies and Green New Deal-style energy that will exacerbate rising costs.

Pennsylvania offers a useful contrast. Here, another Democratic executive, Gov. Josh Shapiro, parades himself as a moderate while pushing extreme, costly policies. The only reason Pennsylvanians haven’t experienced the full cost of his agenda is that a Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate — Mr. Shapiro’s “Achilles’ heel,” according to Politico — has safeguarded the commonwealth from the governor’s liberal impulses.

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