I must admit, I didn’t think when I wrote Ordinary People, Extraordinary Omissions that the first Black woman governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, and first female Indigenous American governor, Deb Haaland, would be elected governors; or the first Black Republican governor in over 100 years, Byron Donalds; or the first Muslim senator, Abdul El-Sayed; or the first openly gay male senator, Chris Pappas, would be elected in the next election cycle.
But YAY!!!
I am excited. Breaking historical barriers matters.
When I wrote earlier this year about what gets left out of our national story, I was referring to the aggregated narratives that make progress look inevitable while ignoring the structural barriers – campaign financing, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity – the usual characteristics that define the ideal candidate. For example, Angie Nixon was outspent in both the primary and general election.
As I listened to the analysis of the “Blue wave,” someone said if the Democrats do not deliver on affordability, voters will turn on them.
Make America Affordable Again
Democrats have flipped the House and Senate and won governorships, but I worry that the affordability mandate is a no-win.
Congress could use the budget reconciliation to restore funding for Medicaid and SNAP, but congressional passage would require the president’s signature or enough votes to override a veto. However, restoring funding, at any level, involves choices about taxes, reallocating, or borrowing. Every choice to make America more affordable requires a trade-off.
- Energy Prices vs. Foreign Policy: Ending the “war” with Iran could help reduce gas prices by easing disruptions to oil supplies. But the trade-off might require sacrificing our relationship with Israel or our global reputation as a superpower.
- Consumer Prices vs. Domestic Labor: Removing tariffs would lower prices on imported consumer goods. But the trade-off is giving up the federal revenue tariffs raise.
- Healthcare Costs vs. Sovereign Debt: Making healthcare affordable for working families requires restoring the Affordable Care Act subsidies and reversing the Medicaid rollback. If this is funded through borrowing rather than higher revenues or spending reductions, the trade-off is increasing the national debt, which critics argue sacrifices the economic stability of the next generation.
- Housing Affordability vs. Wealth: Making housing affordable for working families requires finding a solution to conflicting outcomes. Homeownership is a way to hold and transfer wealth. Lowering purchase prices for prospective buyers means reducing the value of existing homeowners’ assets; slowing price growth means trading some future asset appreciation for affordability. Subsidizing first-time buyers without increasing housing supply puts upward pressure on home prices, although the effect depends on the supply response. Denser multifamily housing requires changing single-family zoning and neighborhood control over development. Housing affordability requires trade-offs that may be costly for policymakers.
As federal funding recedes under the Big Beautiful Bill, governors must decide how to cover the shortfall. Most states operate under constitutional or statutory balanced budget requirements. Keeping property and income taxes down may require sacrificing healthcare, maternal clinics, and food assistance for low-income residents, or sacrificing spending elsewhere. Preserving poverty safety-net services may require sacrificing tax relief to increase state and municipal revenues, redirecting funds from other services, or using reserves.
The challenge for all newly elected officials, as I see it, is that the mandate from this election is affordability, not poverty relief.
We should celebrate “firsts” and increased representation, which is about more than who is elected but who can afford to run for office.
Abdul El-Sayed called his race “a battle between the money and the many.” James Talarico said, “No billionaire or trillionaire can buy our elections.” When the celebrations end and the policies to address affordability are made, the people who cannot buy representation still need to be represented. Every affordability policy will have a cost (trade-off), and unless we name who pays, the most vulnerable Americans will pay the cost.
Stay sharp and ask for receipts.
Rhonda V. Sharpe is the president and founder of the Women’s Institute for Science, Equity and Race. Her research focuses on gender and racial inequality, STEM diversity, and the demographics of higher education.