WARNING! Housing Costs Could Birth Socialism in Idaho

There are folks at City Hall in Twin Falls who’ve told me we can’t build homes fast enough for all the people who want them.  Hence, the high cost of buying and renting in the Magic Valley.  I thought about this driving through a relatively new and growing neighborhood on the northwest side of Twin Falls.  A few observations about where we’re going.  First, the latest generation of houses has a different style.  It’s like looking at a 2006 F-150 versus a 2026 F-150.  Second, the drainage ruts, as I would call what you encounter at intersections, have vanished from the new housing blocks.  No more kah-thunk every block.

Local People Don't Recognize Home

The third observation, and I believe this is the one that has the most impact, is that the newest homes aren’t in the budget for most natives of the Magic Valley, and clearly not for working-class people.  You can’t blame builders.  Profit drives expansion.  Plush homes are more profitable.  Plush homes are more expensive.  The new buyers are mostly still coming from places far away.

Balancing the Good and the Bad Outcomes

You can argue the influx created a top-of-the-line medical industry, better roads and streets, and more entry-level jobs that serve the newcomers.  But a lot of people in those service jobs have no hope of living in a clean new neighborhood.  This is where it gets political.  Members of my audience say the new arrivals are going to turn Idaho in a more liberal direction.  Voter registration directly contradicts that view.  On the other hand, if some clever individual comes along and can capitalize on the grievances of the working poor and convince them to vote, the politics of southern Idaho would change quickly and drastically.  Just a few years ago, we wouldn’t have fathomed the political revolution underway in the northern Midwest.  I wouldn’t argue we’re immune from some slick-talking, charismatic selling the same snake oil.