- Published
Two business owners, half a country apart, want the same thing for different reasons.
asserted
owners → publish → reasons
In Texas, Kim Hanks, who owns Tillies, a hotel, restaurant and spa business near Austin, says rising grocery and fuel costs are forcing her to raise wages for her 300 staff.
asserted
costs → own → staff
"It's been such a moving target for us on affordability," she told the BBC World Service.
asserted
she → move → Service
In Indiana, Danny Reynolds, who runs Stephenson's of Elkhart, a clothing and bridalwear store, simply wants Washington to get its act together.
asserted
Washington → run → act
"My hope is that we can just find some consistency, some working together," he said.
asserted
he → find → consistency
Democrats say they heard both messages.
asserted
they → say → messages
"We ran on affordability, we won on affordability, and now it's our job to govern on affordability," said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on MS Now's Morning Joe.
asserted
Jeffries → run → Joe
But here comes the difficult part.
asserted
part → come → ?
Democrats will hold Congress.
asserted
Democrats → hold → Congress
Donald Trump still has the power to block their plans.
asserted
Trump → have → plans
A message that cut through
The scale of the win was bigger than most forecasters expected, with at least seven Republican-held Senate seats changing hands.
asserted
seats → cut → hands
Behind the result was a striking mood: just 21% of Americans are satisfied with the direction of the country, even though the economy looks healthy on paper.
asserted
economy → look → paper
Voters weren't looking at the statistics.
asserted
Voters → look → statistics
They were looking at their grocery bills, electricity bills and the price at the petrol pump.
asserted
They → look → pump
In rural Texas, rising costs were even hurting Republicans in their own backyard.
asserted
costs → rise → backyard
Sid Miller, the outgoing Republican agriculture commissioner, told me ranchers are getting $300 to $500 less for each head of cattle, while also facing record fertiliser costs.
asserted
ranchers → tell → costs
"They felt betrayed," he said.
asserted
he → feel → ?
So what can Democrats actually do about it?
asserted
Democrats → do → it
The affordability plan
Under the banner "Fighting for an Affordable America," Democrats say healthcare is their first priority.
asserted
healthcare → fight → America
They want to bring back the extra financial help that made health insurance cheaper under the Affordable Care Act and reverse the cuts to Medicaid signed by President Trump in 2025.
asserted
insurance → want → 2025
Next come tariffs and energy.
asserted
tariffs → come → ?
Democrats want to scrap the president's import taxes, which they say add thousands of dollars a year to the cost of groceries, fertiliser and building materials.
asserted
they → want → groceries
They also want to end the war in Iran, which they link to petrol prices averaging $4.18 a gallon, marking an increase of nearly 40%.
asserted
they → want → %
Some Democrats want to build four million new homes over the next decade.
asserted
Democrats → want → decade
On tax, they want to make billionaires pay more and increase tax credits for families with children.
asserted
billionaires → want → children
But how much of it can they actually deliver?
asserted
they → deliver → it
What can they actually pass?
asserted
they → pass → What
Investor Ken Fisher, founder of Fisher Investments, puts it bluntly:
"Congress can't get anything past a presidential veto.
asserted
Congress → put → veto
President Trump can't get anything he wants."
asserted
he → get → anything
The result, he says, is likely to be two years of relative quiet on the legislative and regulatory front.
asserted
he → say → front
In other words, winning in Congress does not give Democrats a free hand.
asserted
winning → win → hand
President Trump can still block legislation, and getting around a presidential veto requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate.
asserted
getting → block → House
For voters hoping for lower bills, that may be a disappointing result.
uncertain
that → hop → bills
They didn't vote for political deadlock.
asserted
They → vote → deadlock
Trump is unlikely to abandon a trade policy that is central to his agenda.
asserted
that → abandon → agenda
Democrats will need Republican support if they want to change it.
asserted
they → need → it
Bernard Yaros, deputy chief US economist at Oxford Economics, expects the average tariff rate on imports to stay around 10% for the rest of Trump's term.
asserted
rate → expect → term
Tariffs are bringing in more money for the government.
asserted
Tariffs → bring → government
Import taxes accounted for just over 1% of federal revenue in 2024.
asserted
taxes → account → 2024
This year, they account for more than 5%.
asserted
they → account → %
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
