A Strong Economy That Families Can’t Afford

Let me start with a sentence that might surprise people: the economy actually is doing some things well right now. Inflation has slowed. Job numbers look steadier. The markets aren’t acting like they’ve had three cups of coffee and a Red Bull. By macroeconomic standards, that’s progress.

But families don’t live in macroeconomic standards. They live in apartments, houses, and monthly payment schedules. And at that level, the economy still feels about as “affordable” as a luxury sedan with leather seats.

That disconnect has finally made its way into the national conversation under a new headline word: affordability. Not inflation. Not GDP. Affordability. Because it turns out a strong economy doesn’t automatically mean a livable one.

Take housing. Mortgage rates have hovered around 6.5–7%, according to Freddie Mac, which is more than double what many families saw just a few years ago. At the same time, the National Association of Realtors reports that home prices are still near record highs. Even when prices stop climbing, the monthly payment doesn’t get the memo. It just sits there, staring at you, daring you to do the math.

So when policymakers respond by offering assistance to help buyers compete in an already tight market, it’s worth asking whether that actually helps. Giving more people more money to bid on the same limited number of homes doesn’t make housing cheaper. It just makes the bidding war louder. If we really want prices to come down, we need more houses — not more paperwork, not more delays, and not more regulations that quietly turn starter homes into unicorns.

Then there’s credit card debt. According to the Federal Reserve, the average credit card interest rate is now over 20% — a number that makes you wonder whether paying it off should come with a small parade. Carrying a balance at that rate isn’t borrowing; it’s more like a subscription you forgot to cancel.

This is where stable policy starts to matter more than clever fixes. Families don’t need gimmicks; they need predictability. When inflation stays under control and fiscal policy isn’t constantly slamming the accelerator and the brakes at the same time, interest rates eventually follow. That’s not exciting, but it works. And unlike quick fixes, it doesn’t quietly raise costs somewhere else.

Grocery prices are another favorite topic — and for good reason. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows food prices are still roughly 20–25% higher than they were in 2020. Inflation may have slowed, but groceries never went back down. They simply decided this was their new neighborhood and unpacked.

Here’s the part that rarely gets mentioned: groceries are expensive because everything that touches them is expensive. Fuel. Transportation. Processing. Refrigeration. Packaging. When energy costs go up, food follows. So while it’s tempting to talk about subsidies at the checkout line, the real relief comes earlier in the chain. When energy is affordable and supply chains are efficient, prices tend to behave themselves.

Now, before this turns into a list of grievances, let me say something clearly: personal responsibility still matters. Financial situations don’t appear out of thin air. Choices matter. Mistakes matter. Fixing them is ultimately on the individual, not the government. My family, like many others, is actively working to improve our financial footing.

And that’s exactly why affordability is such a sore spot.

When families are trying to make responsible choices — budgeting carefully, paying down debt, planning ahead — and policies quietly make everyday life more expensive, it feels like running uphill while someone keeps adjusting the incline. Relief programs may cushion the fall, but they don’t move the hill.

This is where Washington’s instincts often miss the mark. Faced with real cost pressures, the default response is more subsidies, more credits, more temporary fixes. They sound compassionate, and they poll well. But they often increase demand without increasing supply, which means prices stay high and dependence grows.

A healthy economy isn’t one where families permanently rely on relief programs to stay afloat. It’s one where work is rewarded, supply keeps up with demand, and households can plan beyond the next billing cycle without needing a policy announcement to exhale.

The economy can be strong and still unaffordable. Both things can be true. Pretending otherwise doesn’t help families. Fixing the underlying problems does.

Affordability won’t be restored with slogans or short-term patches. It comes from doing the unglamorous work: building more, producing more, spending less, and letting work actually pay again.

Because families don’t need another promise.

They need a future they can actually afford.