New economic data show the crunch Idaho families feel

By Lauren Necochea
Reader Contributor

A good life should be affordable for working people. Your paycheck should allow you to put food on the table, afford a decent home and see a doctor when your family needs one.

But this dream is slipping further away from families. New economic reports show what people are feeling. Although President Donald Trump claims “prices are dropping fast,” you know the truth.

The truth is that prices keep rising. Inflation is higher than it was when Trump took office and shows no signs of falling. Energy and gas prices are climbing faster, and the future looks grim with the Iran war dragging on. And the Trump regime just announced new tariffs likely to push costs even higher.

Meanwhile, workers can buy less with their income and jobs are disappearing. Wage growth has slowed since Trump took office and isn’t keeping up with inflation. The July jobs report shows that the U.S. lost 23,000 jobs.

Idaho Democrats are hearing the same story as we talk to voters across the state. Our candidates, organizers and volunteers have knocked on 58,900 doors and made 52,200 calls and counting. Idahoans are telling us they need some breathing room in the family budget.

Trump promised to bring costs down. Instead, he has raked in at least $2 billion personally since returning to office through crypto schemes, stock trades and more.

The same misplaced priorities are familiar in Idaho. Republicans have controlled state government for decades. They continue spending time and your tax dollars catering to the wealthy and well-connected and playing the morality police.

In contrast, Idaho Democrats are focused on practical solutions to ease the financial pressure working families face.

Making health care more affordable starts with restoring the Affordable Care Act tax credits Republicans ended, which helped more than 100,000 Idahoans afford coverage. Protecting Medicaid keeps rural hospitals, clinics and providers serving their communities. And we must stop the Trump regime from eliminating the successful program that lowers prescription coverage for 125,000 Idahoans.

Idaho Democrats have a plan to immediately lower the cost of groceries by repealing Idaho’s sales tax on food. Right now, Idaho families pay a higher tax rate on groceries than out-of-state corporations pay on their profits. This is backwards. It asks too much of working families while the wealthy don’t contribute what they should.

Idaho also needs more homes that people can actually afford. That includes making it easier to build starter homes, townhomes and backyard cottages. Cutting unnecessary barriers can bring construction costs down, give communities more flexibility and create more paths to homeownership.

Making a good life in Idaho affordable is work worth doing. Idaho Democrats are ready to roll up their sleeves.

Lauren Necochea is chair of the Idaho Democratic Party and a former District 19 legislator. Necochea spent a decade leading nonprofit programs dedicated to research and advocacy in tax policy, health care and children’s issues.