An Affordability Crisis for the Holiday Season
By Katherine Jones, Equitable Economy Advocacy Organizer
The holiday season is surrounded by age-old traditions of shared meals and thoughtful gifts that symbolize community and generosity. Yet Americans do not have as much in their wallets as previous years to make those purchases.
The consumer confidence index dropped almost seven points from October to November. The lack of trust in the economy comes as no surprise since the cost of living and unemployment rates have increased over the course of the year. Almost a quarter of all households are living paycheck-to-paycheck and unsurprisingly that trend is even sharper for people with lower incomes.
When looking at shopping data from Black Friday, we get a closer look at reality between the social classes in our country. A recent study showed that the nation’s highest 10% of earners now account for around half of the total consumer spending, a historic measure. Everyone else, including the middle class, is spending less than the previous two years.
The wealth gap is massive with the top 10% holding 67.2%, whereas the bottom 50% of households only held 2.5% of the country’s total wealth. This stark contrast is underscored with egregious examples of the ultra-wealthy getting even richer, like the looming possibility of the world’s first trillionaire.
As the affordability crisis facing our country takes center stage this holiday season, the question becomes: What recent stressors have exacerbated people’s economic insecurity and what is being done to push for relief for millions of Americans?
On July 4, the president signed the Republican majority’s reconciliation package, which we like to call the “Big Ugly Law.” This package gutted affordable health care and food assistance for millions of people to fund tax giveaways to billionaires. The Congressional Budget Office reports that because of this law, low-income households will see a decrease in resources of about $1,200. Meanwhile, high-income households will see a significant increase in resources of about $13,600.
Additionally, the Republican majority has failed to address the expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits. These health care credits have made it possible for 22 million low-income and middle-class individuals to afford health care. Without an extension by the end of December, health care premiums will skyrocket 114% on average. It’s quite Grinch-like for Republicans to gift tax breaks to the rich yet blatantly refuse to protect millions of Americans’ health care. We will continue to keep up the pressure to extend the ACA credits while fighting to fix our broken health care system.
Despite the crisis Americans are feeling when it comes to trying to make ends meet, the Congressional majority and the Executive are trying to save face as people across the country face the hard hits from their disastrous policy choices, with many more pain points to come. They are using these real-life consequences and people’s economic hardships as a political football, such as calling affordability a con job. All in an attempt to draw attention from winding food bank lines and high healthcare premium notices.
We cannot allow our lives to be punted around the political arena. It’s time we hold our lawmakers accountable for the dire outcomes of the Big Ugly Law and educate our community members about the pressing issues affecting all of us so that we can achieve a fairer economy in the future.
You can get more engaged right now by:
- Contacting the office of your U.S. Representative and Senators and hold them accountable if they supported the Big Ugly Law.
- See how your Representative and Senators voted.
- Call your Representative or Senators at 202-224-3121 (Capitol Switchboard) to express your disappointment. (Or click here and search for your Representative by state, or to click here and search for Senators by state.)
- Host an in-person or virtual Kitchen Table Talk to discuss important issues with your community.
- Write a letter to the editor (LTE) of your local paper about the Big Ugly Law.
The Congressional majority and the wealthy are playing Scrooge while the rest of us are scrounging to make ends meet. This inequity is the antithesis of the holiday spirit and our nation’s leaders must see the light as we enter a new year. It is imperative that we all use our voices to champion for change, fighting to create an equitable society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. During the holiday season and into 2026, please join us in our work to build a world that’s merry and bright for you and your fellow neighbors.