Cost of Living, Housing & Economy
Cost-of-Living Squeeze
Washington spent, families paid. Prices never came back down after the 2021–23 spike, and the purchasing power is gone for good.
The Stakes
The same grocery run that cost $150 in 2020 clears $190 now, and the paycheck didn't grow to match. A parent stands in the cereal aisle doing math she never used to do, swapping name brands for store brands, telling the kids the trip to the lake is off this year. Nobody got a raise that fixed this. The official inflation rate came down, but that only means prices are climbing more slowly from a much higher floor — the lost ground is permanent, and families feel it every single week.
The Receipts
Every figure cites a primary federal source. Tap a chip to check it yourself.
~25%Overall consumer prices are up roughly a quarter since January 2020 — more than double the cumulative inflation of the five years before the pandemic.
BLS ↗Disinflation ≠ deflationWhen the headline rate fell back toward 3%, prices kept rising — just more slowly. The price level itself never returned to 2020 norms.
BLS ↗Groceries up sharplyThe food-at-home index rose roughly a fifth or more over the same span, hitting weekly budgets harder than the headline number suggests.
BLS ↗Energy whiplashEnergy prices spiked well above their pre-pandemic level during the surge and remain elevated, feeding through to nearly every other category.
BLS ↗Real wages stalledInflation-adjusted average hourly earnings were roughly flat to slightly down across the worst of the surge — pay raises were eaten by prices.
BLS ↗Their Best Argument — and Why It Fails
The steelman
Inflation was a global, post-pandemic supply shock — snarled ports, a war in Europe, and corporate price-gouging, not anything Washington did. The Federal Reserve has since brought the rate back down near target, wages are now outpacing prices again, and the U.S. recovered faster than almost any peer economy.
The rebuttal
Supply shocks were real, but they don't explain why the United States ran hotter than most peers — the difference was demand poured on by trillions in deficit spending after the economy had already reopened. Prices rise when too much money chases too few goods, and Washington supplied the money. A cooling rate is cold comfort: it means prices are still climbing from a floor that's already a quarter higher than 2020. "Gouging" can't explain across-the-board increases in competitive markets like groceries and gasoline; broad inflation is a monetary event. The fix is fiscal discipline that stops feeding the fire, not another spending bill labeled as relief.
The Conservative Fix
- 1
Cap and reduce discretionary spending growth to below the rate of inflation until deficits shrink as a share of GDP.
Federal - 2
Require dynamic, inflation-impact scoring on any spending bill above a set threshold before a floor vote.
Federal - 3
Unleash domestic energy permitting to push down the energy input cost embedded in nearly every price.
Federal - 4
Repeal state and local rules that inflate the cost of food, fuel, and housing — the three lines families feel most.
State / Local
Answer the Muster
Who decides this: Your U.S. House member and Senators
I'm a constituent in [district]. My family's costs are up sharply since 2020 and they have not come back down. I'm asking [Official] to stop voting for spending that adds to the deficit and feeds inflation, and to back domestic energy production to bring input costs down. Please tell me where [Official] stands on capping spending growth below the rate of inflation.