Trump's Affordability Plans: A Critical Look

Trump has been sharing his plans to make things cheaper for regular Americans. He wants to lower mortgage rates and cap credit card interest rates. But not everyone thinks these ideas will work well. He suggested buying $200 billion in mortgage bonds to bring down mortgage rates. He also wants to limit credit card interest rates to 10% for a year. Trump says these moves will help consumers. But Mark Zandi, a well-known economist, disagrees. Zandi has been worried about Trump's policies for a while. He thinks they could lead to a recession. Now, he has concerns about these new plans too. Zandi pointed out that lower mortgage rates might not make buying a home easier. He said it could actually make home prices go up. This is because there are not enough homes for sale. So, more people might want to buy, driving up prices.He also warned about using Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy more mortgage bonds. These companies were given rules after the 2008 housing crisis to prevent another big problem. Zandi thinks Trump's plan could weaken these rules. As for credit cards, Zandi doesn't think Trump's plan will pass legal tests. Even if it does, he believes it will make credit harder to get for many people. Banks might not want to lend money at such low-interest rates. Only people with good credit scores might keep their credit lines. Higher-income people would benefit, while middle and lower-income people might be left out.