This article originally appeared in Real Clear Markets September 18, 2026.

On the left and right, America's leaders increasingly act as if they're playing a populist version of Monopoly. In this one, the “Get Out of Jail Free” card takes the form of one-trick, simplistic solutions to cover up the government causing complex problems. But real life doesn't have that kind of easy out. Policymakers from the White House to both houses of Congress to the state legislatures need to stop playing a game in which Americans inevitably lose.

The "get out of jail free" strategy is evident in many major policy debates.

Take housing, where there are plenty of real and pressing problems to solve. Zoning laws make it illegal to build what people want in most American cities. Permitting rules delay projects for months or years, raising costs and decreasing supply. Licensing requirements limit the number of workers, making new construction even harder. Taxes and fees discourage people from moving to where they would like to go.

Yet instead of removing these proven barriers, politicians hope to get out of jail free. They're pushing rent control, subsidized housing, and a ban on “corporate ownership” of homes. These policies pretend to tackle a key part of the problem, but they create new problems that make matters worse. If politicians really want more reasonable rent and home prices, they should embrace bolder challenges like reforming regulations in ways that allow builders to build.

State and national leaders follow a depressingly similar pattern with inflation. It's obvious what causes inflation: too much money chasing too few goods. So it's a big problem that government policies, especially at the federal level, have opened the spigot to seemingly endless cash. College loans increase the cost of higher education. Daycare and preschool subsidies increase prices for many families. And, of course, federal and state spending itself serves to hike inflation because that money has to be borrowed.

But instead of trimming government spending, passing manageable budgets, or cutting subsidies, politicians are mostly interested in spending even more money to paper over the problem. Lawmakers want to further subsidize the cost of people paying for things. They're pushing bills for price controls or limits on how much businesses can charge. They're pushing for more welfare payments, more government transfers, and more of the deficit spending that drives inflation.

None of these policies will actually lower prices—they'll just cover up real costs while sticking higher bills on taxpayers and the broader economy. But then, that's the easy route. It is easy for politicians to increase the budget and take on more debt. It is easy to offer $5,000 checks or “free” programs. It is always easy to ignore the real, larger problem and turn attention elsewhere.

But the short-term inevitably turns into the long run. Solving real public policy problems means doing things that are difficult. Prioritize public spending. Increase competition. Avoid favoritism. Break regulatory barriers. Ignore unprincipled lobbyists. Curtail handouts.

These choices are difficult enough on their own. They're made even harder by the reality of our populist moment. Populists focus on the quick fix, the instant answer, the promise of immediate gain with no pain. But solving America's problems requires tradeoffs and honest assessments of what's working—and what's not. The only way to tackle problems like affordability, housing, and inflation is to start with principles, then devise the policies.

Some politicians, like Argentina's president Javier Milei, have skillfully combined populism with principles to enact good policy. That is a welcome contrast to what the United States is currently seeing, as leaders on the right and the left think they're playing “get out of jail free" cards. But real life isn't a game of Monopoly. When politicians act like it is, they're the only ones who win, while most of America loses.

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited.