In this week’s newsletter, we’re looking at how states are reviving lawsuits to block mail-order abortion pills, the FTC’s new rule that promised to curtail fake consumer reviews, and we do the numbers on down payment assistance programs.

The News Fix

A new push to block mail-order abortion pills.  Attorneys general in three states have revived a lawsuit to restrict access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used to chemically induce an abortion. The suit seeks to reverse Food and Drug Administration policy, banning prescriptions issued through telemedicine and distributed by mail.  Kansas, Missouri and Idaho’s top prosecutors wrote in their amended complaint that the FDA’s decision to allow mail-order delivery has resulted in “a 50-state abortion drug mailing economy, undermining state abortion laws.”

States want to bring back limits on abortion pills. For decades, the FDA imposed tighter restrictions on mifepristone than on opioids due to concerns over its safety. That’s despite analyses of the FDA’s own data showing the drug was safer than penicillin and erectile dysfunction drugs. The states’ lawsuit renewed claims disputing that safety record to reimpose curbs. The attorneys general seek to roll back the FDA’s approved time period for prescribing mifepristone from the first 10 weeks of pregnancy to seven weeks. They’d also bring back requirements for patients seeking the abortion pill to make three in-person visits to a doctor rather than self-administer the pills. The states also want to ban the sale of generic mifepristone and block pharmacies from fulfilling orders. Because the suit would impact FDA rules, Americans living in states where abortion is legal would also feel the effects if the states won their case.

Not just anyone can sue to challenge a law. The Supreme Court rejected anti-abortion advocates’ original lawsuit in June because they had failed to show how access to mifepristone had caused them clear and concrete harm. That’s why the three states took special care to outline their claims of suffering. The AGs wrote in their complaint that expanding access to abortion pills had cost them federal funds because they had reduced teen birth rates and depressed overall population growth. Most people who seek abortions are already at an economic disadvantage. When they lose access to reproductive care, they tend to have children sooner than they would otherwise or have more children, both of which can alter parents’ economic situation for the worse. When someone seeks an abortion but fails to obtain one, they tend to achieve lower levels of education, have lower labor force participation and earn lower wages.

Smart in a shot

How often do you find yourself reading a product review that seems too good to be true? You may be right. The consumer watchdog group U.S. PIRG Education Fund estimates between 30% and 40% of online reviews are dishonest in some way.Generative artificial intelligence compounds the problem, easily flooding review pages to fool consumers and undermine competition. 

The Federal Trade Commission’s rule banning false consumer reviews and testimonials went into full effect this week, Companies that knowingly flout the rules could face steep fines, up to $51,744 per violation.But that doesn’t mean fake reviews will disappear overnight. Be on the lookout for red flags like similar timestamps or identical phrasing on several reviews of the same product, experts say. Check whether reviewers’ purchases are verified and what they’ve written about other products.

When you find bogus reviews, you can now report them directly to the FTC. 

The Numbers

Homeownership still anchors beliefs about the American dream, despite a housing shortage and high prices that defeat Americans’ budgets. That’s why Vice President Kamala Harris has proposed offering $25,000 in down-payment assistance to first-time homebuyers. Let’s do the numbers.

1.5 million to 20.1 million

Just how bad is the nation’s housing shortage? Estimates vary greatly depending on how the data is crunched. The most common method involves looking at vacancy rates. When vacancies drop, home prices and rents typically rise. The National Association of Home Builders estimated U.S. metros would need to add 1.5 million homes to bring the housing supply back in line with historical vacancy rate trends. 

Researchers at the University of Chicago and George Mason University, however, found supply problems of a much larger magnitude. They estimated a shortfall of 20.1 million homes in 2021, in part thanks to regulations like zoning laws that can slow down or prevent new construction. 

51%

More than half of respondents to a Bankrate survey said the high cost of living was a hitch in their homebuying plans. Twenty percent said they will never be able to save enough to purchase a home.

$30,300

That’s the median down payment on a U.S. home last quarter, or about 14.5% of the purchase price on average, according to Realtor.com. Down payments range from 3% to 20%, depending on the mortgage a buyer is able to obtain. 

2,444

That’s the number of down-payment assistance programs in the U.S., according to Down Payment Resource, a national database for prospective homebuyers. These programs are primarily run by municipalities, nonprofits and state agencies. Most programs target first-time buyers and buyers with low or moderate incomes. The average benefit offered was $17,000. 

1.1%

One big concern about down-payment assistance is whether the programs push up prices by making homeownership more attractive and accessible.In response to the subprime mortgage crisis, the federal government created the first-time homebuyer credit, a temporary program that provided $6,500 to $8,000 in assistance between 2008 and 2010. Researchers found the benefits helped more people afford homeownership without severely impacting home prices, which rose $2,400, or a mild 1.1%.

None of us is as smart as all of us

Tell us what’s making you smarter at smarter@marketplace.org. We’d love to include your recommendation in a future newsletter.

Exploited donors

Some of the largest grassroots political donors in the U.S. are vulnerable elders who’ve unwittingly given away their life savings to political campaigns. Producer Jordan Mangi recommends a CNN investigation into how some elderly Americans, especially those with dementia, end up signing up for automatic recurring donations, in some cases being charged more than 100 times in a single day. CNN found these fundraising tactics fall in a legal gray area.

A link to the outside world

Middle East Airlines is conducting business as usual, with 32 to 40 flights per day in and out of Lebanon despite Israeli bombs landing less than half a mile from Beirut’s airport. Kimberly Adams is reading an Associated Press story about the risks that come with running a commercial airline in an active war zone.

Can these goals coexist?

On the campaign trail, Vice President Kamala Harris has pledged to both increase opportunities to build generational wealth through homeownership and increase affordable housing. But the easier housing is to get, the less attractive homeownership as an investment strategy could become. 

Writer Ellen Rolfes is reading a Vox article about how politicians walk a tightrope to expand the housing supply without tanking home prices.