As too many Americans wonder how they can pay their monthly bills AND buy Christmas presents, let’s peek at economic affordability. It was a DAY ONE important issue in last year’s election.
The president has put coal in our stockings. He cut taxes for the rich at the expense of the middle class and the poor and imposed tariffs that raised prices for American consumers. He grades himself on the economy as A+++++. But now, as most Americans disagree with him, he calls affordability a “Democratic scam” and a “con job” that “doesn’t mean anything to anybody.”
The October 2025 SSRS Economic Attitudes Tracker found that economic optimism has faded “with many Americans feeling unseen and misunderstood by political leaders.” People are cutting back, reprioritizing and searching for stability. “(P)rices continue to rise, wages remain stagnant, and political dysfunction rules the day.”