For years I’ve used the same mug every morning — not for coffee, but for a steaming cup of hot chocolate. (I don’t like coffee and have the palate of a 10-year-old.)
But last week, I reluctantly retired that mug, tucking it in the back of a cupboard. There’s nothing wrong with it. But the time had come for crockery better suited to these days of financial austerity. I switched to a smaller cup so that I could stretch a gallon of milk for another day or two, and so the hot chocolate mix that now costs $39 for a three-pound can — up from $27 last year — will last a bit longer.
From reckless tariffs to the US and Israel’s costly war against Iran, President Trump’s economy is crushing Americans. With the midterms less than a month away, there is no bigger issue for voters than affordability. For months, we have been battered by sticker shock with each trip to the gas station or grocery store, as well as every trip to the doctor, even if you’re insured.
(I am convinced that the big increase in the price of blood pressure medication this year makes my blood pressure rise every time I have to refill my prescription.)
Then there’s the autumn chill as a harbinger of what winter could bring. According to the US Energy Information Administration’s annual Winter Fuels Outlook, home heating oil prices are up 34 percent from last winter.
Lisa Furman, who owns a home in northern Maine, recently told Globe correspondent Karyna Cheung that, on top of other rising expenses, “Now you’re going to double my heating oil bill? This is just a slap in the face. There’s no reason for this.”
To put it more succinctly, there’s no good reason for this.
If not for Trump’s ill-conceived decisions on tariffs, from which Americans are suffering the greatest financial burden, and the war-induced chaos affecting the Strait of Hormuz, Republicans might not be expecting what CNN said that a White House insider called “a bloodbath” in next month’s midterms.
But Trump has continued to tout the “great” American economy as “the best … anywhere in the world.” But if the polls are to be believed, an increasing number of people aren’t buying the president’s gaslighting tactics — much like they aren’t buying certain products at their local grocery store anymore because they can’t afford to.
Trump has claimed that when it comes to the economy, “The only thing we’re doing badly at is public relations” and that “Everyone thinks the prices are high because of me, but they’re not.”
Yes, they are.
Perhaps struggling Americans aren’t as adept at lying to themselves as Trump is at lying to them about the cause of their economic woes. And it’s that lack of empathy and unwillingness to accept any responsibility for what’s going wrong from Trump and his Cabinet of billionaires that makes this situation that much more infuriating. Trump does not feel your pain.
Regardless of what happens in the midterms, these economic woes will continue for the foreseeable future. Because of Trump’s failures, more Americans are dipping into personal savings and retirement accounts, evictions are spiking, and more people are racking up debt because they’re using credit cards for basic necessities.
I know I’m luckier than many. While these price hikes are painful, I can mostly handle them — for now. I don’t have children so I haven’t had to explain why they can’t have the latest gadget, new sneakers, or clothes for a special occasion. I now get why my mother, after her big grocery shopping excursions every Saturday morning, would warn me not to “eat everything up in one day.” Whatever she bought for our family of four would need to last a full week.
Republicans love to inflate their ability to address kitchen table concerns, even though the economy generally does better with a Democrat in the White House. It’s up to voters to let Trump and his Republicans know that there’s no more important kitchen table issue than whether they can afford to put food on that table.
This is an excerpt from Outtakes, a Globe Opinion newsletter from columnist Renée Graham. Sign up to get Outtakes in your inbox each Thursday.
Renée Graham is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at renee.graham@globe.com.