Free Republic

President Donald Trump is searching for ways to ease the affordability squeeze on American households, but nearly every proposal is colliding with another part of the economy.Beef relief risks hurting ranchers. Restricting fuel exports could distort energy markets. A proposed $5,000 payment to American adults would require congressional action and could add enormous new spending power to an economy where inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s target.For investors, the bigger story is becoming clear: there may be no quick political fix for an affordability problem being driven at the same time by energy costs, interest rates, inflation and weak purchasing...

Apparently, Democrats’ internal polling suggests gas prices won’t be enough to sweep them into power in the Midterms. They may also suggest endlessly mouthing “affordability” isn’t that hot either, which is plausibly why AI, in development for many years, has suddenly become their newest source of imminent doom. Happily, for Americans, it appears AI hysteria isn’t going to work very well either. Americans seem to have learned from the COVID hoax. The other day, I paid $4.17 for gas. That didn’t make me happy, but I know it’s temporary. President Trump’s policies, based in reality and a solid understanding of...

The Democratic Party holds a significantly smaller edge over the Republican Party now than it did in 2018 when Democrats flipped the House of Representatives during President Donald Trump’s first term. Democrats hold just a five-percentage-point lead over Republicans about a month and a half out from the 2026 midterm elections, according to a new NBC News poll that was released on Sunday. Democrats writ large are still more unpopular than Trump himself and the broader GOP despite voters’ belief that Trump’s policies have harmed the economy and pushed up prices. Voters prefer Democrats by 50%-45%, seven percentage points lower...

Prices increases remained stubbornly high in August with little relief in sight for weary American consumers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that consumer prices rose by 0.4 percent in August month over month, leaving the annual CPI inflation rate at 3.4 percent, flat with the 3.4 percent figure in June. 'Apart from the hot core inflation, today’s data doesn’t even cover the most recent oil price spike above $100,' Nic Puckrin, markets expert and former Goldman Sachs analyst, told the Daily Mail. The August inflation numbers are the last impactful data report to come out before the Federal...

Conservatives should understand something before the American voter is forced to explain it to us at the ballot box: an economy is experienced before it is measured. Economists can discuss growth rates, employment figures, productivity, investment, markets, and inflation until the average citizen’s eyes glaze over, but the working American conducts a considerably more primitive calculation. What did I earn, what did everything cost, and what remained afterward? If the answer to that final question keeps getting smaller, no political party should expect a statistical lecture to improve his disposition. Republicans understood this perfectly during the Biden administration. We correctly...

Crude oil prices jumped 3% on Wednesday as fighting between the U.S. and Iran escalates in the Persian Gulf, raising investors fears that energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz will fall. Brent futures were up 3% at $100.86 a barrel by 8:29 a.m. ET. It is the first time the international benchmark has crossed the $100 threshold since July. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures traded 3% higher to $95.84. The U.S. military destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers Tuesday in retaliation for attempted attacks on an American warship. The U.S. warship successfully evaded Iranian attack and no American personnel...

Buying a house, raising a family, spending Saturdays at kids’ sporting events – every aspect of normal life is touched by private equity.Your local doughnut shop got taken over by private equity and, like everything else private equity touches, things got worse. Gone is the experience of watching the conveyor belt fry doughnuts in front of you. No more biting into a freshly made pastry that melts in your mouth. Bad for you? Sure. Delicious? Yes.Now, it is just bad for you. Private equity stepped in and doughnuts are now shipped to nearly every location from a corporate shop. Krispy...

Retaliatory tariffs issued by Canada are set to hit some imports from the United States soon after midnight on Tuesday, intensifying a trade war between the longtime allies and risking an escalation from President Donald Trump.Levies as high as 50% will be applied to hundreds of U.S. products, ranging from aluminum foil to raincoats to cheese. U.S. elected officials in states bordering Canada, including Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, have warned the trade dispute will hurt local businesses and consumers.

DALLAS — Motorists are expected to encounter the highest average Labor Day gasoline price on record in nominal terms, according to a forecast released Tuesday by fuel-savings platform GasBuddy. The company projects the national average will reach $4.03 per gallon during the holiday weekend, 87 cents higher than the $3.16 average recorded in 2025. The forecast would surpass the previous nominal Labor Day record of $3.83 per gallon, set in 2012.

Housing in New York City has become painfully unaffordable. In June 2026, renters paid an average of $5,408 for a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, while even the average studio reached $4,014. It isn't difficult to understand why young New Yorkers are frustrated, or why socialism is starting to sound appealing. Underneath that anger is a very real problem. Young New Yorkers aren't wrong for being frustrated. Housing has become unaffordable, and they are right to demand better solutions. But is socialism the answer? The Marxist Lens: Tenant vs. Landlord Before asking whether socialism can solve New York’s housing crisis, we...

The Democratic nominee for Colorado's Third Congressional District, Dwayne Romero, has made housing affordability a tent-pole issue for his campaign, accusing "Wall Street behemoths" of "buying up homes and driving up rents." Yet, for years, his real estate firm has made big money selling multimillion-dollar luxury homes in Aspen, where residential property is so expensive that even the city's doctors and lawyers can't afford to live. Romero also holds stakes in BlackRock, Blackstone, and Airbnb, his personal financial disclosure shows. Romero told a Grand Junction news outlet that his top priority is "affordability" and that "prices and housing costs" is...

The federal deficit will be $2.1 trillion when fiscal year 2026 ends on Sept. 30, the Congressional Budget Office projected in its monthly budget review.The deficit - the gap between what the government spends and what it collects from taxes and other revenue - has never surpassed $1.8 trillion, except during the Covid-19 pandemic.Key facts: Federal revenues are up 3% in 2026 compared to last year. Even though corporate income tax revenue has declined, income and payroll tax collections increased.But federal spending is up 5%, according to the CBO. Interest on the national debt increased 14% compared to last year....

US President Donald Trump urges Americans to accept slightly higher gasoline prices as the cost of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and said he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory. The comments underscore the growing political risk for Trump as higher fuel prices collide with his campaign promise to lower energy costs, with Democrats already seeking to make the economic fallout from the Iran war an issue heading into the November midterm elections. In a speech in Garden City, Trump says Americans who had to “pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline”...

Yikes U.S. Rent Prices vs Income

"The conservatives on here denying the affordability crisis are engaged in what I can only describe as an act of political suicide. They're also lying, which is the worst part. Grocery prices are up. Housing. Energy. Insurance. Health care. Basic living expenses. It's real. It's happening. Denying it just makes you look out of touch, deceitful, and untrustworthy. It's also a completely unnecessary and unforced error. No credible person is claiming that Trump caused these price surges. You don't have to disgrace yourself by denying the reality in front of your face just to prove your loyalty to Trump. The...

California, the most populous U.S. state and the one with the largest economy, ranked as the 35th best state in a new ranking published by U.S. News on July 28.South Orange County communities near Laguna Beach, Calif., on Oct. 15, 2020. John Fredricks/The Epoch TimesUtah ranked as the best state, followed by South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Nebraska.The ranking was based on scores in eight categories such as education, healthcare, economy, and fiscal stability, and it was weighted by survey opinions.Despite a median income of more than $100,000 compared to the national average of $81,600, California ranked last in...

A report from the Institute for Family Studies warns that the United States is approaching a demographic turning point, with fertility rates continuing to fall well below replacement levels and population declines increasingly likely in the coming decades unless current trends change. The report, titled ”The Demographic Dead End: 2026 State of Fertility Report,” presents estimates of fertility trends for every state dating back to 1917. As part of the nation’s 250th anniversary, researchers also reconstructed birth rates in Massachusetts dating to 1660, offering one of the longest historical views of American fertility ever compiled. According to the report, the...

For millions of Americans, the weekly grocery trip has become one of the biggest strains on the household budget. Even as overall inflation has cooled, food prices remain stubbornly high, forcing shoppers to compare prices more closely than ever before.Now, a new study suggests one of the country’s largest supermarket chains may be offering the best value on everyday essentials.Kroger topped a comparison of four major grocery retailers, beating Walmart, Aldi, and Albertsons on the total cost of a basket of common store-brand staples.Kroger Comes Out on TopThe price comparison, conducted by Restaurant Furniture Plus and reported by Southern Living,...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday imposed 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products.The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump’s return to the White House. The administration official previewing the action said that Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump’s previous tariffs and must be held accountable.The official insisted on anonymity on a call with...

The doom feed says home affordability locked a generation out. The math on the payment you actually write says something the headlines won’t.Here are the “facts” that the media tells you about home affordability.Let’s start with a recent survey. Two out of three Americans now say it’s a bad time to buy a house, the most negative reading Gallup has ever recorded. Another study showed that a record 25.2 million adults under 35 are living with their parents. Scroll any feed, and you’ll hear that home affordability has priced an entire generation out for good. Those are the “facts” according...