Mike

It’s honestly crazy how expensive everything is nowadays. There’s no reason why 2 small sandwiches from @panerabread should cost $30, a family of 5 at @ChickfilA costing $70, or ice cream for the same size of family $32. Yes, I know: “Eat at home, it’s healthier and cheaper.” Okay, let’s say we eat at home exclusively. Get a @Costco membership. You’re still looking at grocery bills ranging from $200 - $500/week, depending on how much meat you eat. Now let’s talk about rent. Let’s say you make $60k a year. Once upon a time, that was a pretty good salary! After taxes, health insurance, Social Security deductions, you’re bringing home $3800/month. For a 3/2 house, you’re looking at $2500 in monthly rent, depending on where you live. That leaves you with $1300 a month to pay for the following: that $250 Costco trip, utilities ($350-400/month), gas ($250/month) car payments, car insurance ($220/month) maybe student loans, phone bill ($120/month), etc. I’ll let the economists fight each other about what caused inflation, high rent, home prices, etc. All I know is that for the ‘Average Joe’, we don’t care about fighting Iran or whatever the current priorities are these days. Most Americans, as @MattWalshBlog pointed out the other day, are struggling. We just want to be able to afford a home and live comfortably, able to save for our children’s future. Meanwhile, the AI revolution is bringing in people to San Francisco who are paying OVER the already-inflated asking price. It’s clear that the rich are getting richer, but the middle class is rapidly becoming poorer. Wages are not catching up to costs of living. That $32 ice cream trip for mom, dad, and 3 kiddos should radicalize you. An American family should be able to go out for a treat every now and then, and not get slammed by these nonsense prices. I don’t have all the answers, but I do know this: any political party who demonstrated the ability to make things affordable again would win in a landslide.