Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 19 hours ago
The cost of living crisis isn’t simply about everything getting more expensive.
Many discretionary goods have become cheaper or better in real terms. But the expenses people have the least ability to avoid — housing, healthcare, education, and taxes — have become increasingly expensive.
Why?
In this video, I examine the role government spending, regulation, administrative growth, and policy-driven incentives may play in increasing the cost of life’s necessities.
The argument is that the cost of an expanding state doesn’t always appear as a higher income tax rate.
Sometimes, you pay for it through your mortgage, hospital bill, tuition, property taxes, fees, and higher prices.
Chapters
00:00 Why the Cost of Living Keeps Rising
01:45 The Cost of a Growing State
04:15 How Government Spending Expanded
05:01 The Rise of Non-Defense Spending
05:53 The Hidden Tax of Inflation
06:11 The Taxes You Never See
08:08 How Regulation Raises Housing Costs
09:18 Why America Doesn’t Build Enough Homes
11:11 The Hidden Cost of Healthcare
11:50 How Insurance Incentives Work
12:34 From Manufacturing to “Eds and Meds”
13:46 The Business Behind Education
15:02 Why Essential Costs Outpaced Inflation
15:59 Where the New Jobs Are Going
16:58 The Real Cost of the State
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Email Questions to askafundmanager@gmail.com
Sources & Further Reading
Federal Spending as a Share of GDP
U.S. Office of Management and Budget / Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — Federal Net Outlays as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
FRED — Federal Net Outlays as % of GDP
Federal Budget Deficits & Debt
Congressional Budget Office — The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036
CBO — Budget and Economic Outlook
Regulatory Costs of New Housing
National Association of Home Builders — Regulatory Costs Jump 40% in Five Years, Add $131,734 to New Home Prices
NAHB — Regulatory Costs of New Homes
Government Regulation in the Price of a New Home
National Association of Home Builders — Government Regulation in the Price of a New Home: 2026
NAHB — Full Regulatory Cost Study
U.S. New-Home Prices
U.S. Census Bureau / HUD via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
FRED — Median New-Home Sales Price
FRED — Average New-Home Sales Price
Healthcare Administrative Costs
Annals of Internal Medicine — Health Care Administrative Costs in the United States and Canada, 2017
PubMed — Healthcare Administrative Costs Study
Affordable Care Act — Medical Loss Ratio
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Medical Loss Ratio
CMS — Medical Loss Ratio
U.S. Manufacturing Employment
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Forty Years of Falling Manufacturing Employment
BLS — Manufacturing Employment
Healthcare & Government Job Growth
S&P Global Market Intelligence — Surge in Healthcare Employment May Mask Weakness in Wider US Jobs Market
S&P Global — Healthcare Employment and U.S. Job Growth
S&P Global reports that healthcare and government accounted for roughly 65% of U.S. job growth in 2024, directly supporting the statistic discussed in the video. The revised transcript now places that claim at 15:59.
Recent College Graduate Underemployment
Federal Reserve Bank of New York — The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates
NY Fed — College Labor Market
Missouri Income Tax Phaseout Proposal
Missouri Secretary of State — 2026 Ballot Measures: Amendment 5
Missouri Secretary of State — 2026 Ballot Measures
Missouri's income-tax phaseout discussed in the video refers to a proposed ballot measure, rather than an already implemented phaseout. The Missouri passage remains at approximately 06:31 in the revised transcript.
Disclaimer:
Anything in this channel is for informational and educational purposes only and is not investment advice. All information contained herein is based upon information available to the public. No representation is made that it is accurate or complete. No mention of a particular security, index, derivative, or other instrument on this channel is an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned herein, nor does it constitute an opinion of the suitability and appropriateness of investing in any financial instrument. Please consult your investment advisor and do your own research before making any trading or investment decisions.
The cost of living crisis isn’t simply about everything getting more expensive.
Many discretionary goods have become cheaper or better in real terms. But the expenses people have the least ability to avoid — housing, healthcare, education, and taxes — have become increasingly expensive.
Why?
In this video, I examine the role government spending, regulation, administrative growth, and policy-driven incentives may play in increasing the cost of life’s necessities.
The argument is that the cost of an expanding state doesn’t always appear as a higher income tax rate.
Sometimes, you pay for it through your mortgage, hospital bill, tuition, property taxes, fees, and higher prices.
Chapters
00:00 Why the Cost of Living Keeps Rising
01:45 The Cost of a Growing State
04:15 How Government Spending Expanded
05:01 The Rise of Non-Defense Spending
05:53 The Hidden Tax of Inflation
06:11 The Taxes You Never See
08:08 How Regulation Raises Housing Costs
09:18 Why America Doesn’t Build Enough Homes
11:11 The Hidden Cost of Healthcare
11:50 How Insurance Incentives Work
12:34 From Manufacturing to “Eds and Meds”
13:46 The Business Behind Education
15:02 Why Essential Costs Outpaced Inflation
15:59 Where the New Jobs Are Going
16:58 The Real Cost of the State
Join My Substack and Email List: nickpardini.substack.com
Website: nickpardini.com
Schedule a Consultation: https://forms.gle/X4PRyPn2gWjudtBw9
Link to Upcoming Tour Locations: eventbrite.com/o/80560975783
Get Old Money Reading List: https://nickpardini.substack.com/subs...
Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3e5cwqQ...
AF with Nick Store: https://nicholas-pardini-shop.fourthw...
AF with Nick Tour Survey: https://forms.gle/cFeyBNBcCS6jz5f7A
Private Dinner and Events Application: https://forms.gle/NJhDqSX7N22xuwXJ6
Become a Member for Early Releases and Bonus Videos:
/ @afnick
Email Questions to askafundmanager@gmail.com
Sources & Further Reading
Federal Spending as a Share of GDP
U.S. Office of Management and Budget / Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — Federal Net Outlays as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
FRED — Federal Net Outlays as % of GDP
Federal Budget Deficits & Debt
Congressional Budget Office — The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036
CBO — Budget and Economic Outlook
Regulatory Costs of New Housing
National Association of Home Builders — Regulatory Costs Jump 40% in Five Years, Add $131,734 to New Home Prices
NAHB — Regulatory Costs of New Homes
Government Regulation in the Price of a New Home
National Association of Home Builders — Government Regulation in the Price of a New Home: 2026
NAHB — Full Regulatory Cost Study
U.S. New-Home Prices
U.S. Census Bureau / HUD via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
FRED — Median New-Home Sales Price
FRED — Average New-Home Sales Price
Healthcare Administrative Costs
Annals of Internal Medicine — Health Care Administrative Costs in the United States and Canada, 2017
PubMed — Healthcare Administrative Costs Study
Affordable Care Act — Medical Loss Ratio
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Medical Loss Ratio
CMS — Medical Loss Ratio
U.S. Manufacturing Employment
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Forty Years of Falling Manufacturing Employment
BLS — Manufacturing Employment
Healthcare & Government Job Growth
S&P Global Market Intelligence — Surge in Healthcare Employment May Mask Weakness in Wider US Jobs Market
S&P Global — Healthcare Employment and U.S. Job Growth
S&P Global reports that healthcare and government accounted for roughly 65% of U.S. job growth in 2024, directly supporting the statistic discussed in the video. The revised transcript now places that claim at 15:59.
Recent College Graduate Underemployment
Federal Reserve Bank of New York — The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates
NY Fed — College Labor Market
Missouri Income Tax Phaseout Proposal
Missouri Secretary of State — 2026 Ballot Measures: Amendment 5
Missouri Secretary of State — 2026 Ballot Measures
Missouri's income-tax phaseout discussed in the video refers to a proposed ballot measure, rather than an already implemented phaseout. The Missouri passage remains at approximately 06:31 in the revised transcript.
Disclaimer:
Anything in this channel is for informational and educational purposes only and is not investment advice. All information contained herein is based upon information available to the public. No representation is made that it is accurate or complete. No mention of a particular security, index, derivative, or other instrument on this channel is an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned herein, nor does it constitute an opinion of the suitability and appropriateness of investing in any financial instrument. Please consult your investment advisor and do your own research before making any trading or investment decisions.
