Free Republic

After campaigning on “affordability,” Virginia state Democrats have introduced a measure to more than double their salaries, now that fellow Democrat Abigail Spanberger is in the Governor’s Mansion, giving them control of all three branches of their state’s government. “Virginia Democrats are now trying to give themselves a PAY RAISE after proposing thousands of dollars in new taxes hammering working families, the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus warned in a X.com post highlighting how the legislators’ pay raise would hurt taxpayers: “They ran on ‘affordability,’ but all they’ve done is introduce insane left-wing policies and take from your pocket to line...

Voters feelings about the affordability of the following items: Transportation: 🟢 Affordable +53 Utilities: 🟢 Affordable +53 Food: 🟢 Affordable +47 Groceries: 🟢 Affordable +43 Having a family: 🟢 Affordable +7 Health Care: 🟢 Affordable +3 Housing: 🔴 Unaffordable -10 Education: 🔴 Unaffordable -24 NYT/Siena poll | 1/12-1/17 RV

I can't afford to buy a home! I hear this lament often, especially from young folks. Boomers often respond, saying, "Quit buying $6 lattes and ordering Uber Eats, and maybe you could save for a house." It might just be me, but it seems like that may oversimplify things a tad. I mean, there's no doubt a lot of young people would benefit from budgeting lessons. However, that doesn't change the fact that there is a significant home affordability problem here in the U.S. Last year, the average age of a first-time homebuyer in the U.S. climbed to 40 for...

David Delfiner and Lisa Parsons received a shocking letter from their health insurance provider when they checked their mail last week. Their monthly health insurance cost will increase from $350 a month this year to $2,221 starting in 2026. “It’s insane. It’s unbelievable,” said Parsons, a 59-year-old retiree living in South Lake Tahoe. The couple is not alone as open enrollment begins and 1.7 million Californians are facing an average 97% surge in premiums for next year’s health insurance plans available on the open marketplace. Covered California, the state’s health care exchange, expects prices to increase 10% on average for...

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said that President Donald Trump called her on Monday following a speech in which she sharply criticized his record on costs and governance. "In my remarks, I made it clear that despite promising to lower costs On Day One, Trump has done nothing but raise costs for families," she said in the statement. She said Trump called her after her remarks at the event on Monday. "I told him that Congress can pass legislation to cap credit card rates if he will actually fight for it. I also urged him to get House Republicans...

A grocery store receipt from 1997 shows just how much prices of everyday items have skyrocketed in less than three decades. TikTok user Zoe Dippel shared the shockingly low costs in a viral video after a family member found the proof of purchase in a box of mementos. “$155 for all of this!” one of Dippel’s relatives remarked after holding up the lengthy receipt from Texas chain H-E-B dated June 20, 1997. “That’s a lot of stuff,” Dipple declared, as she started to sort through the 122 items and read the prices out loud. The receipt revealed that Little Debbie...

New York City's socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani ran on a platform of making things "free" and "affordable." That was a lie, of course. He has no authority to, for example, make the city's buses and subways "free" for commuters. In fact, a few days after he took office, the subway fare climbed to $3 per ride. He also thinks he can make World Cup tickets "available to all New Yorkers," because — like all socialists — he has no idea how the real world actually work. But his most nefarious plans come from housing. He and his housing/tenant advisor Cea...

There’s a cruel irony in working harder than your parents did and still being unable to afford what they had. For a generation of Americans who played by the rules—saved diligently, built credit, waited for the right time—the right time never seemed to come. The house with the yard and the room for grandkids to visit? It drifted further away with every passing year.The numbers tell a grim story. Home prices have surged 105% over the last decade, transforming what was once a milestone into a fantasy for millions of families. Young couples delay starting families. Retirees watch their fixed...

President Trump on Wednesday called for a ban on “large institutional investors” buying single-family homes in a bid to address the issue of affordability. “I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that he will discuss the topic, including further Housing and Affordability proposals, at the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month. The proposed ban could prove to be a way in for Trump and Republicans to...

President Donald Trump says he believes the 2026 midterm elections will center on “pricing” as Republicans head into a critical period with control of Congress on the line. Trump’s comments follow a string of favorable economic reports over the last two weeks showing inflation is cooling and the economy is hotter than expected. The White House is keen to tout the latest data as it confronts cost-of-living concerns that have underpinned a string of Democratic overperformances across the country. Still, polls show Americans are struggling. Nearly half of respondents said they find groceries, utility bills, health care, housing and transportation...

Widening demonstrations sparked by Iran’s ailing economy spread Thursday into the Islamic Republic’s rural provinces, with at least seven people being killed in the first fatalities reported among security forces and protesters, authorities said. The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere. The fatalities, two on Wednesday and five on Thursday, occurred in four cities, largely home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group. The protests have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody...

SLOP, PARASOCIAL and rage bait were contenders for word of the year in 2025. In 2026 an early favourite for that title, at least among pollsters and election strategists, is “affordability”, often paired with the word “crisis”. Having at last found a slogan that seems to work against the spell of Trumpism, Democrats will talk of little else between now and the midterms in November. In Europe, which is better at reposting American memes than coming up with fresh ones, there is talk of a cost-of-living crisis. A transatlantic consensus is forming that prices are out of whack. But are...

BREAKING: In an enormous development, HUD Sec. Scott Turner CONFIRMS President Trump has called a meeting of his top economic advisors in Florida to draw up the most AGGRESSIVE housing affordability plan in US history This is HUGE! GREAT news for the midterms. 🔥 "He has been working 24/7! We will be meeting together in Florida to talk about housing affordability ideas. This is top of mind and top priority for the president."

Data this week showed that the American economy is growing at its fastest pace in two years — and yet polling shows the mood on Main Street is grim. It’s almost hard to believe we’re talking about the same economy. But the metrics offer another reminder that two seemingly diverging trends can simultaneously be true. An economy that’s growing rapidly doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is feeling it. Yes, gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the US economy, heated up this summer to a sizzling annualized pace of 4.3%, far outpacing economists’ expectations. But the booming GDP did not...

PHOENIX—All eyes were on Gen Z this weekend as more than 10,000 students gathered at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, where speakers and panels discussed the issues motivating Gen Z heading into a pivotal election year. After making impressive inroads with young voters in the 2024 presidential election, the conservative movement is vigorously debating how to address young voters’ concerns heading into the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. From the main stage to The Daily Signal’s interviews with students in attendance, one issue rose above the rest: affordability. Affordability Is Everything “Probably the most important economic issue of our...

The “economy” symbolizes survival at its most basic level. It is through an economic system that we gather items for our continued existence and, more importantly, for continued survival of our loved ones. So yes, it’s always the economy (affordability).Since the economy is so important to our basic survival, what economic philosophy best promotes and protects that system? Is it more government? Or more private enterprise? We need to answer this basic question before promoting another “solution.”Politicians would have you believe that another law or rule or some grand federal program will solve all our problems. They would have us...

The recent Democratic cry of “affordability” is ironic in many ways. The left-wing narrative of Trump hyperinflation was one of desperation and came only after previous memes had failed to resonate. The 2025 generic “dictator,” “fascist,” and “Nazi” smear points never helped the left much. Nor did the nihilist government shutdown over the “Obamacare crisis” work other than perhaps to depress fourth-quarter GDP. Nor did the earlier spring 2025 melodramatic predictions of an impending “Trade War,” “Recession,” and stock-market “Meltdown resonate.” Nor did the “Gestapo,” “SS,” and “Nazi” ICE smears become effective talking points. The “illegal orders” and “unconstitutional use...

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik says she is dropping out of the New York governor’s race and will not run for reelection to the House after finishing her term in office.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Republican push to make drilling cheaper on federal land is creating new fiscal pressure for states that depend on oil and gas revenue, most notably in New Mexico as it expands early childhood education and saves for the future. The shift stems from the sweeping law President Donald Trump signed in July that rolls back the minimum federal royalty rate to 12.5%. That rate — the share of production value companies must pay to the government — held steady for a century under the 1920 Mineral Leasing Act. It was raised to 16.7% under...

Once the darling of American transplants, Florida’s appeal seems to have dimmed. Just three years ago, Florida ranked among the nation’s top destinations for people making a move. But that momentum seems to have faded. Florida still offers the warm climate and favorable tax structure that remain major draws, but it’s lost ground on the crucial affordability factor. In the year through November, just over half of global moving company Atlas Van Lines’ Florida-related moves were inbound, the firm said in its annual Migration Patterns Study — a near-even split between people moving in and moving out that marks a...