{"id":2323839,"date":"2024-08-13T13:57:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-13T17:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/paying-the-bills-is-harder-than-ever-are-voters-supposed-to-feel-joy-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-13T14:01:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T18:01:16","slug":"paying-the-bills-is-harder-than-ever-are-voters-supposed-to-feel-joy-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/paying-the-bills-is-harder-than-ever-are-voters-supposed-to-feel-joy-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Paying the bills is harder than ever. Are voters supposed to feel joy? &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpaying-the-bills-is-harder-than-ever-are-voters-supposed-to-feel-joy-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2323839&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses\u2064 the \u2063increasing financial\u200b struggles that families are facing due to persistent inflation, despite a slight decrease in overall inflation rates \u200bsince \u2063the peak in 2022.\u2062 As prices continue to rise, especially for essential services like \u2062rent, electricity, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/economists-push-for-another-round-of-stimulus-checks\/\" title=\"Economists Push for Another Round of Stimulus Checks\">child care<\/a>, many households are forced to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/people-will-not-abandon-lifestyle-for-the-sake-of-climate-change-bill-gates\/\" title=\"People Will Not Abandon Lifestyle for the Sake of Climate Change: Bill Gates\">make significant lifestyle<\/a> changes to manage their budgets. A report from \u200cthe *Wall Street Journal*\u200d highlights the tough financial conditions,\u200c citing specific examples of families cutting \u200bback on necessities to cope with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-slam-biden-policies-clobbering-working-families-with-record-inflation\/\" title=\"Republicans Slam Biden Policies, \u2018Clobbering\u2019 Working Families With Record Inflation\">soaring costs<\/a>. The \u200dgeneral sentiment among Americans reflects discontent with the country&#8217;s direction,\u200c as shown by \u2063a poll indicating\u200c that 65% \u2062believe \u200dthe nation is on the wrong track. In \u2063response to these challenges, notable figures, including Vice President Kamala Harris \u2064and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz,\u200c are\u200d promoting a campaign theme centered around &#8220;joy,&#8221; aiming to engage voters despite the \u200dprevailing\u200b financial hardships.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Paying the bills is harder than ever. Are voters supposed to feel joy?<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1729705\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>PAYING THE BILLS IS HARDER THAN EVER. ARE VOTERS SUPPOSED TO FEEL JOY?&nbsp;<\/strong>On Wednesday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/inflation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"inflation\">inflation<\/a> figures for July. Whatever the numbers turn out to be, this will remain true: Prices are far higher than they were when <a href=\"https:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Joe Biden\">Joe Biden<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Kamala Harris\">Kamala Harris<\/a> took office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Even as the rate of inflation has gone down<\/strong>&nbsp;from its peak in 2022, people have learned an unhappy lesson. When the rate of inflation goes down, prices still go up. They are building upon all the price increases before but at a somewhat slower rate. Yes, very few things go down, but at the same time, others keep rising at a high rate. There&rsquo;s no relief.<\/p>\n<p><strong>This week, the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;published a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/economy\/consumers\/inflation-costs-housing-utilities-purchases-8b6f18d8?mod=lifestyle_whatsnews_pos3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>striking portrait<\/a> of how that affects many families. The headline was &ldquo;Child Care, Rent, Insurance: Where Inflation Hits Hardest Now; Big, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-ge-lays-off-workers-at-onshore-wind-unit-as-part-of-turnaround-strategy-sources\/\" title=\"Exclusive-GE lays off workers at onshore wind unit as part of turnaround strategy \u2013 sources\">fixed costs<\/a> that are tough to avoid are crushing household budgets.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong>&ldquo;Price increases for lots of items,<\/strong>&nbsp;like cable and shampoo, are indeed cooling,&rdquo; the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> reported. &ldquo;Prices for vehicles, gasoline, TVs and plane tickets have even dropped over the past year. &hellip; But prices for many of the things that are hard to do without are still posting eye-watering increases. Rent and electricity bills are up 10% or more over the past two years, and car insurance costs are up nearly 40%, according to the Labor Department&rsquo;s index. Shoppers might be able to trade down from prime steak to cheaper cuts of meat at the supermarket, but they can&rsquo;t really do the same thing with the water bill.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The article told the story<\/strong>&nbsp;of one family trying to use less electricity, reduce their home insurance coverage, and cut back on the children&rsquo;s sports leagues. Another family stopped eating out and deferred any hope of buying a bigger house after being slammed by soaring day care costs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The burden is not limited<\/strong>&nbsp;to their particular circumstances. &ldquo;Households across the country are facing similar struggles,&rdquo; the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> reported. &ldquo;According to the Labor Department, essential services such as water, sewer, and trash collection have jumped nearly 11% over the past two years, and electricity has climbed 10%.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong>It&rsquo;s no surprise that 65%<\/strong>&nbsp;of people believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to the <em>Real Clear Politics<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/state-of-the-union\/direction-of-country\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>average of polls<\/a>. Harris and Biden took office in a moment of relative optimism for the country, when just 49% thought the country was on the wrong track. (That&rsquo;s a pretty low number for the last 20 years.) By mid-2022, with inflation raging, 74% felt the country had gone astray &mdash; higher than at any point in the Trump presidency. Now, it&rsquo;s 65%.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So: When two-thirds of Americans<\/strong>&nbsp;feel the country is on the wrong track, what theme do Harris and running mate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) adopt for their presidential campaign? Joy. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2024\/08\/08\/biden-walz-joy-trump-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Washington Post reported\"><em>Washington Post<\/em> reported<\/a> that the two Democrats have &ldquo;seized on a joyful message.&rdquo; A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/08\/09\/us\/politics\/kamala-harris-walz-joy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"New York Times analysis\"><em>New York Times<\/em> analysis<\/a> of their &ldquo;joyful campaign&rdquo; included the headline: &ldquo;Harris Used to Worry About Laughing. Now Joy Is Fueling Her Campaign.&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/the-reidout\/watch\/kamala-harris-and-tim-walz-campaign-with-joy-while-trump-and-vance-bring-politics-of-fear-and-weirdness-216692805578\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"MSNBC declared\">MSNBC declared<\/a> that Harris and Walz &ldquo;campaign with joy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Obviously, Harris and Walz are happy.<\/strong>&nbsp;Why shouldn&rsquo;t they be? Harris quickly, almost instantly, secured the Democratic nomination after party leaders pushed the aged and infirm Biden aside. Walz has a chance for a bigger job than he ever imagined. That can make a politician joyous.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But what about everybody else?<\/strong>&nbsp;For those families making trade-offs to meet their most basic needs &mdash; can joy pay their electric bill? The water bill? The rent? Insurance on the house? Kamala Harris will spend the coming weeks trying to persuade those voters to reward her for the dismal circumstances her time in office has brought. She will have many advocates, in the Democratic Party and in the media, cheering her on. But for millions of voters, the bills are still the bills, and there&rsquo;s nothing joyous about that.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1729705\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1729705\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Managing expenses has become increasingly challenging. Should voters really be expected to feel happy? On Wednesday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will unveil the inflation data for July. Regardless of the outcome, one fact remains: prices are significantly elevated compared to when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris assumed office. Although inflation rates have decreased from their peak in 2022, people have come to a disappointing realization: even as inflation slows, prices continue to rise\u2014albeit at a slower pace. While some items may see price reductions, many essential costs keep climbing sharply without any relief in sight.<\/p>\n<p>This week, the Wall Street Journal highlighted how this situation impacts numerous families with an article titled \u201cChild Care, Rent, Insurance: Where Inflation Hits Hardest Now; Big fixed costs that are tough to avoid are crushing household budgets.\u201d The report noted that while price increases for various goods like cable and shampoo are easing off, essential expenses such as rent and electricity have surged by over 10% in the past two years. Car insurance has skyrocketed nearly 40%, according to Labor Department data. Families might downgrade their grocery purchases but cannot do so with necessary bills like water.<\/p>\n<p>The article shared stories of families attempting to cut back on electricity use or reduce home insurance coverage while another family halted dining out altogether due to soaring daycare costs. These struggles aren&#8217;t isolated; households nationwide face similar challenges. Essential services like water and trash collection have risen nearly 11% over two years alongside a 10% increase in electricity rates.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s no wonder that around 65% of people believe the country is moving in the wrong direction according to Real Clear Politics polling averages\u2014a stark contrast from when Biden and Harris took office amid relative optimism where only 49% felt things were off track. By mid-2022 during rampant inflation, this number rose dramatically to 74%, surpassing any point during Trump&#8217;s presidency; currently standing at 65%.<\/p>\n<p>In light of this sentiment among Americans feeling discontented about national direction, what campaign theme do Harris and her running mate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) choose? Joyfulness! The Washington Post reported on their &#8220;joyful message,&#8221; while a New York Times analysis noted how joy now fuels Harris&#8217;s campaign after her previous concerns about laughter in politics.<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s understandable for them to feel elated\u2014Harris quickly secured her nomination after party leaders sidelined an aging Biden\u2014what about everyday citizens? For families making difficult choices just to cover basic needs\u2014can joy help them pay their electric bill or rent? As Kamala Harris embarks on efforts over coming weeks trying persuade voters amidst these grim realities she helped create during her tenure in office\u2014with support from Democratic allies and media\u2014the harsh truth remains: millions still face mounting bills without any sense of joy attached<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2642,"featured_media":2323840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/kamala-harris-bidenomics.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[38018,38019,38016,38017,32076],"class_list":["post-2323839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-economic-challenges","tag-financial-strain","tag-paying-bills","tag-voter-sentiment","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/kamala-harris-bidenomics.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2323839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2642"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2323839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2323839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2323840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2323839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2323839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2323839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}