*** “Future historians will record the volatility of the president’s decision-making, as well as the internal struggles of a government for4ced to grapple with it. They will write that his advisors came to find him unfit for the job. He couldn’t focus on governing, and he was prone to abuses of power, from ill-conceived schemes to punish his political rivals to a propensity for undermining vital American institutions. They will document how officials considered drastic. – some might say desperate. – measures to warn the American people.” [ Anonymous: “A Warning” ]. [NOTE: this book, written in 2019, was a warning to America about Donald John Trump – and the damage he already was doing]
This post is volume two on Trump’s contributions to, and lies about, his own policies and rhetoric for the “affordability” struggles most Americans face. As post CLIV noted, Trump will likely have NO empathy for their struggles. – as he seldom has ANY empathy for ANYBODY outside a small circle [ like billionaires!!!]. He will likely spend the next 7 months trying to sell. YOU on the FRAUD. that he has no responsibility for YOUR. struggles, and, trying to convince YOU. it doesn’t exist, or – is a “hoax” made up by “the enemies of the people” – news media, economists, statisticians – all of whom look at. REAL. numbers, listen to REAL. ordinary people – like YOU.
This post examines three major “affordability” crises: health care, housing, chuld care:
Health Care
A]. “One-third of Americans – an estimated 82 million people – say they are making sacrifices, including skipping meals or driving less, to pay for care….people also said they had delayed making major changes to their lives, like hacing a child or retiring..” [Reed Abelson: “Medical costs are squeezing Americans”; New York Times; 3/13/26]
B] “Over the past five years, the price of health coverage for an employee’s family has risen 26 percent, to $27,000 annually….About 32 percent of Americans said they were “very worried” about health care bills.” [Peter Whoriskey: “Americans’ top worry is now the cost of health care”; Washington Post Weekly; 2/1/26]
C] “We don’t talk about it much, but the numbers tell the story plain: about four in 10 adults in America carry medical or dental debt, and rural folks are more likely to struggle with it than people living in urban areas. Research shows medical problems and bills are among the leading contributors to personal bankruptcy…. Other nations have made different choices about how to care for their people..” [Andrew Tate: “The Cost of Care in the Land of Plenty”; The Progressive Populist; January, 2026]
Housing
D]. “President Trump’s proposed housing policies would put hundreds of thousands of Americans out on the streets.” [Farrah Hassen: “It’s Not only the White House Getting Demolished. Trump’s Gutting Affordable Housing”; The Progressive Populist; December, 2025]
E] “Home prices have risen more than 50 percent since the start of the pandemic. About a third of American households now spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing….The core of the problem is simple: Too much money chasing too few homes.” [Note; the solution is known: built more homes]. [Ezra Klein: “Our Housing Crisis, in One Chart”; New York Times; 1/30/25]
F} “I don’t want to drive housing prices down,” ..[Trump].. said. I want to drive housing prices up for people that own their own homes.”….Economists across the ideological spectrum have diagnosed the United states with an acute housing shortage ghat has raised home prices and rents. The remedy, they argue, is to focus on policies that increase the supply of housing..” [Connor Dougherty: “Trump Is Seeking To Drive Up Housing Prices”; New York Times; 2/9/26]
G] “ICE Surge Drags Down Home Construction”. [Dee Depass; Minnesota Star Tribune; 2/10/26]: “Twin Cities homebuilders are falling behind schedule as the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota has fueled a shortage of roofing, drywall and other construction workers..”
H] YOU can also rad; “Homewreckers”. [Aaron Glantz]: “a shocking investigation into America’s housing crisis and the modern day robber barons – among them Donald Trump and his inner circle – who are making a fortune off the backs of the disenfranchised working class and middle class.”
Child Care
I]. “Nationally, the cost of child care now significantly outpaces inflation, rising 8% since June 2024, compared with a 4% increase in general inflation……New York Times/Siena University polling, which found that affordability concerns are largely about the costs of family life….In most states, the average price of child care is even higher than in-state college tuition.” [Asmaa Elkeurti, Claire Cain Miller: “For Many, Child Care Seems less Affordable Than Ever”; New York Times; 3/22/26]
*** “Trump lacks the emotional stability, knowledge, critical-thinking skills, and judgment to be commander-in-chief…..Even by the standards of the incurious George W. Bush, Trump is appallingly ignorant….More surprising than Trump’s lack of knowledge of geopolitics is his ignorance of economics, the field in which he was given a bachelor’s degree..” [ Pulitzer Prize winner David Cay Johnston: “It’s Even Worse Than You Think” ]
***. “In a president, character is everything.” [ Peggy Noonan ]
With Justice For All 