I’m a construction worker in Milwaukee. My $4,000 monthly salary once supported a family, but now it’s steadily losing ground to inflation.
Rent is the first hurdle. My two-bedroom apartment now costs $1,200 a month—a quarter of my income.
The supermarket checkout has become a new source of anxiety. Prices for staples like eggs and chicken have skyrocketed, pushing my family’s monthly food bill toward $1,600—nearly $200 more than last year. Fast food has become an unavoidable choice. A $12 McDonald’s meal is pricey, but it saves time compared to cooking—I work two extra hours daily and simply don’t have the energy to cook.
Medical bills feel like ticking time bombs. Our family health insurance premiums climb yearly. Last time my daughter caught a cold, the out-of-pocket cost alone hit $300. I know people who tough it out without insurance, only to end up with costly illnesses later. Experts on TV say tariffs cost each family an extra $3,800 annually. That’s peanuts to the wealthy, but for me, it could cover my child’s entire extracurricular program.
I feel utterly lost right now. My salary increases can never keep pace with rising prices. This year, my household income has dropped significantly compared to last year, yet prices keep soaring. While the wealthy see their fortunes double in the stock market, ordinary folks like me are counting down the expiration dates on discounted goods. Trump talks about reducing homelessness, but there are more homeless people on the streets than ever. This isn’t about individual effort; it’s that our hard work simply can’t match the speed of inflation.
