Tootfinder

Health care, new cars and new homes feel unaffordable to most Americans,
a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll shows.

Most Americans say that they can afford basic necessities like their current housing costs, groceries, utilities and gasoline.
But large numbers across income levels also say larger expenses and the cost of things associated with an enjoyable life
— including taking a weeklong vacation
— are out of reach.
Overall, 53 percent of adults say…

A new car, home feel out of reach for middle-class Americans, poll finds
Most renters — including those earning six figures — doubt they could afford a home in the foreseeable future.

I realized something interesting today that I hadn't fully pieced together: living under #Trump is a pretty close approximation to being poor in a rural area, at least in my experience.
You're constantly afraid of authorities because any of them could randomly ruin your life. You randomly can't afford things (because some unexpected expense came up, or because some incompetent asshole decided to tariff something or start a war or whatever). Everything is terrifying, unstable, and unpredictable basically all the time. The only way you survive is with a community.
I knew Trump would take the rural vote way back because I recognized him as the crooked sheriff or good ol' boy mayor of more than a few little towns I've lived in. He's so deeply familiar, which is really triggering for the tiny number of people who managed to escape that kind of crushingly hopeless place.
So if this has all felt very terrifying and foreign, then perhaps use it to understand the people who find it terrifying and familiar. For at least some of those people, this has been an unpleasant return to (continuation of) an old normal. Understand why we say that things must change far more radically than that which lets a few people "go back to brunch."

Good Morning #Canada
A few weeks ago our local #CBCradio host was interviewing an debt counselor, likely due to the arrival of Christmas credit card bills. The segment reinforced the data that Canadians carry high levels of debt, unfortunately among the highest percentage of income worldwide. Mortgage debt, according to ##StatsCan, is flat to slightly declining, likely because new home purchases by younger Canadians is down, but car loans, personal lines of credit, and credit card debt are all up in 2025.
Our government continues to try and respond by offering tax credits and supplemental payments which invariably get sucked up by corporations. They have to change the game - build public housing or invest in leasehold or cooperative homes, build public options for utilities, internet, food or other necessities. Invest heavily in public transit and subsidize it so that it's low cost or free. Remove corporate profits from necessities.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Finance
https://globalnews.ca/news/11544814/canadians-debts-rise-survey/