Surprisingly useful in The Washington Post this week is a graphic-illustration article capturing the conflict between a U.S. economy that is by many measures healthy and the anxious, sour outlook that Americans have about their own finances. Most important were the recurring themes of a “psychological tax” and “mental costs.”
There’s never been a better way of describing what it’s like to live through the Biden economy.
The Post article profiles three Americans who range from lower-middle income to higher-middle, all of whom say that relentless price increases for basic necessities have forced them to significantly reduce their living standards and devote more time to budgeting and price comparing (otherwise known as “manual labor”).
“Sure, inflation may be less severe than it was a few months ago, but it’s still very much weighing on Americans,” the authors wrote, “especially those in lower-income households. And it’s hurting more than their wallets; constantly monitoring price changes and having to pay attention to how and where they spend money carries mental costs, too. This psychological tax of inflation is real, and lingering…”
When is this not the case when Democrats are calling the shots? In the name of “combating climate change” or “building from the bottom up and the middle out,” they foist some cumbersome program on America and demand that you rework your life around it.
Recall part-time Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last year espousing the “benefit” of President Biden’s billions in electric vehicle subsidies, a benefit which is only truly experienced when there is “more pain” for the vast majority of people who drive gas-powered cars.
Mind you, all that benefit also requires consumers to either have at least $35,000 to spare on a new car, or the enthusiasm for taking on a monthly auto loan payment. And even then, the logistical fun is just getting started. EV owners will then need to pay for the installation of a charging line at home, or map out where exactly in town they can re-juice their car before it dies. Local commercial pump down for maintenance? Don’t worry — Mayor Pete is confident you’ll figure that out! What else have you got going on, anyway?
Think back to when Biden’s former boss President Obama threw hundreds of thousands of Americans off their healthcare coverage plans with his signature legislation. He said not to worry because his new law made it easy to “just shop around” for new ones.
Wait. You’re not telling me you’re one of those people who would rather spend time with your children, husband, or wife, are you? Overrated. Shop around for insurance instead. It’s fun!
This is standard Democrat economic policy: further complicate life for middle-income earners and swear you’re doing them a favor; disrupt the lives of unassuming people who now have to devote more time and money to whatever new “help” that the government has insisted on dispensing.
This is the psychological tax and mental cost of putting them in charge.
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