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Americans are rightly fed up. A fresh AP-NORC poll finds that nearly half of adults say they’re not confident they could find a good job, while a majority call grocery bills and other everyday costs major sources of stress — a stark reminder that economic headlines about GDP and markets don’t translate into real relief for working families.
Grocery prices are crushing households across the income scale; the poll shows more than half of Americans view the cost of food as a major stressor, with low-income families hit the hardest. That kind of pressure on family budgets is not an abstract policy debate — it’s real people skipping dinner table conversations and cutting back on necessities because Washington has prioritized politics and pet projects over lowering costs.
Homeownership and retirement security are slipping out of reach for too many Americans, according to the survey, which found 63% aren’t confident they could buy a new home and a slim majority lack confidence in having enough saved for retirement. This is the predictable result when years of bad incentives, bloated federal spending and a regulatory maze inflate housing and borrowing costs while stifling supply — and voters should remember which parties and policymakers stood in the way of reforms.
Energy costs have also jumped onto the list of worries, with more than a third calling electricity a major source of stress as grid strain and policy choices push bills higher. Conservatives have been warning for years that canceling reliable energy projects and piling on mandates and tariffs would produce higher prices — Americans are now seeing the consequences in their monthly statements.
Job confidence has taken a hit at a moment when politicians like to tout stock indices and talking points, but people feel differently at their kitchen tables; fewer Americans feel secure that they could land a good job, pay an emergency medical bill, or afford childcare and housing. Those are not just poll numbers — they’re a verdict on governing: voters want common-sense solutions like regulatory relief, energy independence, sensible tax policy and a focus on supply-side fixes that actually lower costs.
The answer is not more Washington promises or partisan finger-pointing; it’s a return to pro-growth, pro-family policies that unleash American enterprise and cut the red tape that inflates prices. Lawmakers who care about hardworking Americans should stop grandstanding and start delivering concrete reforms: streamline permitting, unleash American energy, cut unnecessary tariffs and stop piling new costs onto families who are already stretched thin.
