U-Haul stocks rise, Democrat stocks tank: It’s “Affordability,” stupid

Editorial by Robert M. Levy

Why did In-N-Out Burger move from California to Tennessee? Why did SpaceX move from California to Texas? Or, to put it another way…Why are California and the Democrat Party the principal benefactors of U-Haul? “It’s affordability, stupid!”

There is something called the “Affordability Index.” It measures the burden that high taxes and high prices place on average Americans. The higher the number, the higher the burden.

For Republican-run Tennessee, the index is a very light 75.41. For Texas it’s 380.62. But the index for Gavin Newson’s California is 10,810.9.

So, which party do you want to control your state? Your nation? Both In-N-Out and SpaceX agree. By moving to Tennessee, the burger joint employees can live in a place which is 143 times more affordable than their old home in California. Rocket scientists moving to Texas can have a better economic life by a factor of 28.

So, really, What is this “affordability index”? [It’s not that complex.] It’s the cost of electricity, multiplied by the average cost of gasoline, multiplied by the median residential property tax rate, multiplied by the top marginal state income tax rate*, multiplied by the unemployment rate and finally multiplied by the latest comparison of consumer prices, the Regional Price Parities.

Even with all those factors to consider, it took very little time for Meta AI to do the math. And when I saw the math, it took me even less time to conclude that Gavin Newsom has created a state where more than just the rents are “too damn high.”

But Meta and I did not just fixate on California. The affordability problem is national. The broader issue for the midterms is which party can deliver to the American public a more affordable life. Here are the statistics:

The probability that a “state” (DC included) with a Democrat governor will have an affordability index burden above the national median is 80%. The probability that a state will be more affordable than the median (a lower affordability index) is also 80% if the governor is a Republican. Conclusion: It is 80.0% more likely that a state will be more affordable if it is led by a Republican. It is equally probable (80%) that in Democrat states things will be less affordable. Therefore, if a voter wants to have enough money in his or her pocket to buy “stuff,” he or she needs to vote Republican.

Yeah, I get it. It’s a lot of numbers. And I know, “There are lies, damned lies and statistics.” Some people might argue, “Sure, things are more expensive in Democrat states. But people get paid more. Minimum wages are higher. Pay is also supposedly bolstered by unions and “right to work laws”. So…make more…spend more…it all evens out. Right?”

No, it doesn’t. Yeah, the median per person income in Democrat states is 6.9% higher than in the Republican states. It’s $4,886 more per person each year. But, for instance, the median home prices in Democrat states are 34% higher than in Republican states.

More importantly, the median Republican state affordability index burden (601.44) is 61.4% lower (61.4% more affordable) than the Democrat state median of 2,108.33. Or, looking at it the other way around, the Democrat un-affordability burden is 350.5% heavier than the Republican index number. In Democrat states, “workers”  might get paid a few pennies more, but it doesn’t come close to covering the added dollars they must pay for food, housing, gas, and electricity.

SpaceX, In-N-Out Burger, and a lot of other companies figured out what voters need to figure out, too. In California, the median home price is $809, 227. In Tennessee, it’s $335,569. In Texas it’s $308,212. If a resident bought a home in each of the 25 Democrat-run “states” (24 plus D.C), it would cost $11.776 billion. If he or she did the same in the 26 Republican states, even though the purchaser had to buy an extra home, the cost would be $8.478 billion….29% less.

“It’s the economy, stupid!” Everyone should know it; but Republicans apparently don’t know how to explain it. A vote for a Democrat is a vote to create an unaffordable economy. If Republicans can find a way to explain it…they will win it…all of it…this November.

Sept. 5, 2026

Robert M. Levy RobertReports.substack.com

*P.S. O.K., math geeks. Even though Tennessee and other states have an income tax of 0, we did not multiply their affordability index by 0 as that would give them an index of 0. We handicapped them by multiplying by 1 so as not to outsize their tax advantage. So, no, I didn’t cheat!

Robert M. Levy grew up in Moore County and graduated from Pinecrest High School. He earned a BA in history and sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where his honors thesis on the Wilmington Rebellion of 1898 became part of the university’s library collection.

Admitted to the California State Bar in 1978, Levy practiced law for 40 years in California and Maryland, focusing on family and criminal law, including work with juvenile offenders and abused children. His writing on affirmative action appeared in the San Fernando Valley Law Review, and he authored Divorce: A Cynical Experience. He later earned a North Carolina teaching certificate from UNC Charlotte and taught high school social studies across Moore County.

Levy has served as chairman of the Moore County School Board, president of the North Carolina Electoral College, chairman of the Moore County Republican Party, and a columnist for The Pilot in Southern Pines. He lives in Pinehurst with his wife, Linda, and they have three children and four grandchildren.

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