A couple of months ago, I wrote about President Donald Trump, tariffs, and my concerns about where the economy could be headed.
I wanted to give things time.
I was very critical of Joe Biden when he was president because I didn’t feel enough was being done about rising prices. As a voter, one of my biggest concerns was simple….get prices under control and give working people some breathing room.
Now, after giving President Trump time, I have to be fair.
I’m starting to feel the same frustration again.
This isn’t coming from a Republican or Democrat. I consider myself independent. I want whoever is sitting in the White House to succeed because when the president succeeds economically, hopefully American families succeed too.
But right now, something doesn’t feel right.
A Random Store Conversation Said A Lot
What really got me thinking happened today here in the Atlanta metro area.
I was in a store, and somehow a conversation started about how expensive everything has become. About five or six people got involved, and then others started joining us.
Different ages. Different backgrounds. Different races.
Nobody was yelling. Nobody was arguing politics.
People were simply talking about their wallets.
What surprised me was that several people said they had voted for Trump, yet they were disappointed with where the economy stands right now.
That caught my attention.
This wasn’t a political rally or some online comment section. These were regular people standing in a store talking about everyday life.
And everybody seemed to have the same question:
When are we finally going to feel some relief?
The Numbers Explain Some of That Frustration
Inflation nationally was still running at 3.4% in July, while energy prices were up 14.7% compared with a year earlier.
Here around Atlanta, food prices were up 5.5% and energy prices were up 11.5% over the year ending in June.
Even more important to working families, inflation-adjusted hourly wages were slightly lower than a year ago in July.
That’s the part politicians sometimes miss.
People don’t experience the economy through a chart.
We experience it at Kroger, Walmart, the gas pump, restaurants, rent payments, insurance bills, and everything else.
Then Came Iran
I am not going to pretend I’m a foreign policy expert. I also don’t know everything happening behind closed doors with Iran.
I have friends who serve in the military, so I take war seriously. I want them safe, and I hope every decision involving American service members has a real purpose.
But economically, the timing couldn’t have been worse.
The Iran conflict and problems around the Strait of Hormuz have helped push oil and gasoline prices higher. Average U.S. gas prices have climbed above $4 a gallon, adding another expense when families were already struggling to keep up.
That doesn’t mean America is “losing” the war. So lets not get that twisted…
It means American households are feeling another consequence of it.
The Engine Is Getting Hot
In my last article, I said the economic engine was overheating.
Well, I don’t know much about fixing engines, but we might be seeing a little smoke coming from under the hood now.
Maybe we haven’t thrown a piston …yet.
But somebody might want to grab a fire extinguisher.
There were a lot of promises about affordability, prices, energy, and making life easier for Americans. People are now waiting to see those promises show up in their bank accounts.
I still hope things improve.
Maybe six months from now, I’ll be writing a completely different article.
But as of August 2026, many working Americans aren’t asking who deserves political credit.
They’re asking a much simpler question:
What the hell is going on and when does life get affordable again?
