Even Besides Iran, Trump’s Other Policies Continue to Amplify Affordability Problems

                  

Map per the Business Broker Network

Besides Iran, Trump’s Other Policies Continue to Amplify Affordability Problems

Facts are contradicting Donald Trump at every turn. As he and Major and DOD/W Secretary Pete Hegseth constantly state that the US is winning the Iran War and our efforts have gained increased global respect, Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz, the enriched uranium is still in Iran, our own military intelligence tells us that the bulk of Iran’s sophisticated missiles are intact, there remains an ample supply of cheap Iranian drones, and an IRGC hardliner (who openly mocked Trump) is now a senior member of Iran’s negotiating team (which does not seem particularly interested in pressing for further negotiations). As for respect: “German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday [4/27] said Iran's leadership is in the process of ‘humiliating’ the United States in the ongoing conflict.

“Merz said Washington appeared to lack a clear strategy and questioned what kind of exit the US might pursue… ‘At the moment, I do not see what strategic exit the Americans will choose, especially since the Iranians are clearly negotiating very skillfully — or very skillfully not negotiating,’ he said… Merz added that ‘an entire nation [the US] is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, particularly by the so-called Revolutionary Guards.’" MSN News, April 27th. Most of the rest of the world seems to agree with Merz as even the most casual review of the international press will easily confirm.

Clearly, the big picture Trump policy failures get most of the headlines – from illegal tariffs that slammed consumer prices, the Iran War that really amped up consumer prices globally, the Big Beautiful Bill that provided an unnecessary tax cut for the rich while decimating healthcare for millions to pay for it, a pro-business deregulation tsunami that leaves ordinary Americans high and dry and exposed to both financial and environmental toxins and his immigration brutality that cost billions to run and has hollowed out the workforce of innocent and productive undocumented workers that were a backbone of low-wage workers that populated agricultural and construction arenas, small businesses (particularly hospitality and food services) and, critically child and elder care. A deeper dive into the numbers illustrates rising the day-to-day economic misery that continues to plague most Americans.

For example, there are interesting housing/childcare correlations with couples seeking a starter home, particularly to accommodate growing families especially where there are better public schools. But when you add the absurdly escalating costs of childcare to the already over-the-top increases in housing (rental and purchase), life for so many American couples and single parents has turned into a horror show. With everything costing more, the squeeze on all but the highest income Americans, has created a Trump-accelerating nightmare. Writing for April 27th Realtor.com, Allaire Conte explains how government childcare statistics haven’t remotely kept up with reality:

“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines childcare as affordable if it costs 7% or less of a family's income. Yet, in every single state, the typical family far exceeds that threshold, qualifying them as ‘cost-burdened’ by this essential service… The timing couldn’t be worse as 1 in 3 homeowners and 1 in 2 renters are currently considered cost-burdened by housing—putting the two biggest and most essential costs of a family budget into direct competition.

“‘Families with young kids are facing this double whammy,’ explains Yulia Panfil, director of the Future of Land and Housing Program at New America, a think tank. ‘If they don't pay for child care, then they can't work, and if they can't work, then they can't pay rent. So it's this vicious cycle.’… And it's a dire assessment of the reality families face today. As a shortage of 4.03 million homes collides with a shortage of 4.2 million childcare slots, advocates argue these crises are now inextricably intertwined.

“The clearest connection between housing and childcare costs is found in the demographic most at risk of losing their homes… Minors face the highest risk of eviction in the U.S., according to research from the Eviction Lab. They account for roughly 40% of all individuals threatened with displacement annually. Furthermore, households with children represent over half (52%) of all eviction filings.

“‘Nearly 3 million kids are on the receiving end of an eviction notice each year, which is just shocking,’ says Panfil. ‘For so many families, their two largest household budget items are rent and childcare. And in cities like [Washington] DC, where I live, the cost of childcare actually is higher than the cost of rent for many, and that's per child.’ … That data is a stark illustration of the impossible trade-off the most cost-burdened families face: Pay for childcare so you can work, but then fall short on rent; or pay the rent, but lose your ability to work because you can't afford the childcare…

“Elise Gould, a senior economist at the [Economic Policy Institute], began noticing a troubling shift in the data a decade ago… ‘All of a sudden, childcare became more expensive than housing in a number of counties across the country,’ she says. ‘It really surprised us.’.. And while [government] figures represent typical families on the median income, the squeeze is far more acute for minimum-wage workers… In New Hampshire and Wisconsin, childcare costs alone would consume 115% and 112% of a worker’s total earnings, respectively… In a cruel twist, Gould notes that childcare workers are often the most acutely burdened by the crisis they help manage.”

This is Trump’s America, as he seeks to put his name on an increasing number of iconic American buildings, builds gilded garish monuments to his “glory” from a new and unneeded White House ballroom to an ugly, oversized celebratory arch dwarfing our capital’s monuments to Presidents Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln… just as life for most Americans has ended upward mobility in favor of a paycheck-to-paycheck life for most of us.

I’m Peter Dekom, and this constant increase in our cost of living combined with reductions in government benefits, that seem to be never-ending, are unsustainable amplifiers of a toxic widening income/wealth gap where the only beneficiaries are the top 5% of the wealthiest Americans.