For years, Donald Trump, Mike Lawler, and Congressional Republicans promised they would lower costs for working families.
Instead, Hudson Valley families are paying more.
Inflation accelerated to 4.2 percent in May, the fastest pace in three years. According to the latest economic data, the increase has been driven overwhelmingly by energy costs. Gas prices are up more than a dollar per gallon from a year ago, with the national average reaching $4.15 per gallon.
The primary driver of today’s inflation isn’t excessive consumer spending or a booming economy. It’s energy.
Yet while energy prices have surged and families are paying more, Mike Lawler has defended the conflict that has driven much of the recent energy spike as “absolutely worth it.” The war has pushed oil prices higher, helping drive inflation to its highest level in three years and leaving working families to absorb the cost.
At the same time, workers are falling behind. Real wages have declined over the past year as rising prices have outpaced earnings, leaving many families with less purchasing power than they had just 12 months ago.
For families across the Hudson Valley, the impact is impossible to miss.
Every trip to the gas station costs more. Every commute takes a larger bite out of the household budget. For teachers, nurses, construction workers, delivery drivers, and anyone who relies on a car to get to work, higher gas prices function like a tax on everyday life.
And the costs don’t stop at the pump.
Energy prices ripple throughout the economy, increasing the cost of shipping goods, operating businesses, producing food, and delivering services. As fuel costs rise, so do the prices families pay for everyday necessities.
That may be easy to dismiss from Washington. It’s much harder for the family trying to balance a household budget every month.
And higher energy prices aren’t the only challenge facing those families.
The Republican Tax Law, supported by Lawler, cuts SNAP food assistance and slashes Medicaid funding, putting additional pressure on household budgets at precisely the moment when costs are rising. Families are paying more for transportation, facing higher grocery bills, and confronting growing uncertainty about healthcare coverage.
The result is an affordability squeeze coming from every direction.
Energy prices are rising. Inflation is accelerating. Real wages are falling behind. Food assistance is being cut. Healthcare costs are under pressure.
Hudson Valley families were promised lower costs.
Instead, they’re being asked to pay more and told it’s worth it.