Ezra Klein

One of our deep views about politics right now, and not politics, policy, the texture of the economy of the country, is that the last period in American politics, in the economy, was about demand. The fundamental problem coming out of the financial crisis was demand. We had too little demand in the economy.

One of our deep views about politics right now, and not politics, policy, the texture of the economy of the country, is that the last period in American politics, in the economy, was about demand. The fundamental problem coming out of the financial crisis was demand. We had too little demand in the economy.

Behind that too little demand in the economy was this other thing that was building up, which was a cost of living crisis. Housing was getting super expensive, healthcare, in certain ways, energy, but energy is more complicated in ways we can talk about, elder care, childcare, higher education, right? This is a point, my wife is a journalist at The Atlantic, Annie Lowry with Derek,

Behind that too little demand in the economy was this other thing that was building up, which was a cost of living crisis. Housing was getting super expensive, healthcare, in certain ways, energy, but energy is more complicated in ways we can talk about, elder care, childcare, higher education, right? This is a point, my wife is a journalist at The Atlantic, Annie Lowry with Derek,

Behind that too little demand in the economy was this other thing that was building up, which was a cost of living crisis. Housing was getting super expensive, healthcare, in certain ways, energy, but energy is more complicated in ways we can talk about, elder care, childcare, higher education, right? This is a point, my wife is a journalist at The Atlantic, Annie Lowry with Derek,

And she wrote this piece in 2020, early 2020, right before the pandemic that went very viral called The Affordability Crisis. And it sticks in my head because she's writing at a time when people were saying the economy's great. Everything's great. Like you looked at measures of consumer confidence in 2020, February of 2020. Terrific.

And she wrote this piece in 2020, early 2020, right before the pandemic that went very viral called The Affordability Crisis. And it sticks in my head because she's writing at a time when people were saying the economy's great. Everything's great. Like you looked at measures of consumer confidence in 2020, February of 2020. Terrific.

And she wrote this piece in 2020, early 2020, right before the pandemic that went very viral called The Affordability Crisis. And it sticks in my head because she's writing at a time when people were saying the economy's great. Everything's great. Like you looked at measures of consumer confidence in 2020, February of 2020. Terrific.

She's like, so how come if the economy is so great, everybody I talk to is so upset? And she's like, look, like people are making more money than ever, but it's getting eaten up and eaten up and eaten up by these things they really need. They keep getting more expensive, even as consumer goods get cheaper. Then the pandemic hits. The problem becomes COVID. But then you have inflation.

She's like, so how come if the economy is so great, everybody I talk to is so upset? And she's like, look, like people are making more money than ever, but it's getting eaten up and eaten up and eaten up by these things they really need. They keep getting more expensive, even as consumer goods get cheaper. Then the pandemic hits. The problem becomes COVID. But then you have inflation.

She's like, so how come if the economy is so great, everybody I talk to is so upset? And she's like, look, like people are making more money than ever, but it's getting eaten up and eaten up and eaten up by these things they really need. They keep getting more expensive, even as consumer goods get cheaper. Then the pandemic hits. The problem becomes COVID. But then you have inflation.

And inflation moves a problem of the economy, the fundamental problem everybody's paying attention to. From the demand side, how do we get more people at work? How do we get them to spend more money? To the supply side, we don't have enough, right? We have a constriction of semiconductors, of used cars, and then eventually everything, right? Everything is getting more expensive.

And inflation moves a problem of the economy, the fundamental problem everybody's paying attention to. From the demand side, how do we get more people at work? How do we get them to spend more money? To the supply side, we don't have enough, right? We have a constriction of semiconductors, of used cars, and then eventually everything, right? Everything is getting more expensive.

And inflation moves a problem of the economy, the fundamental problem everybody's paying attention to. From the demand side, how do we get more people at work? How do we get them to spend more money? To the supply side, we don't have enough, right? We have a constriction of semiconductors, of used cars, and then eventually everything, right? Everything is getting more expensive.

And we do get, I mean, we'll see what happens with tariffs. We do get, you know, by 2024, the rate of inflation under control, but prices are still much higher. And now people are paying real attention to prices. And the affordability crisis, which, again, is a cost of living crisis, which had been growing for a very long time, is now at crisis levels. And it becomes the substance of politics.

And we do get, I mean, we'll see what happens with tariffs. We do get, you know, by 2024, the rate of inflation under control, but prices are still much higher. And now people are paying real attention to prices. And the affordability crisis, which, again, is a cost of living crisis, which had been growing for a very long time, is now at crisis levels. And it becomes the substance of politics.

And we do get, I mean, we'll see what happens with tariffs. We do get, you know, by 2024, the rate of inflation under control, but prices are still much higher. And now people are paying real attention to prices. And the affordability crisis, which, again, is a cost of living crisis, which had been growing for a very long time, is now at crisis levels. And it becomes the substance of politics.

People, you know, you had all these Democrats saying, I don't know what the problem is. Like, inflation has come down to whatever it was, three to four percent in 2024. And they're right about that. But one, the price level of everything remained high. But two, people were now like... The fuck is housing so expensive for? Like, I'm never going to be able to afford a home.

People, you know, you had all these Democrats saying, I don't know what the problem is. Like, inflation has come down to whatever it was, three to four percent in 2024. And they're right about that. But one, the price level of everything remained high. But two, people were now like... The fuck is housing so expensive for? Like, I'm never going to be able to afford a home.

People, you know, you had all these Democrats saying, I don't know what the problem is. Like, inflation has come down to whatever it was, three to four percent in 2024. And they're right about that. But one, the price level of everything remained high. But two, people were now like... The fuck is housing so expensive for? Like, I'm never going to be able to afford a home.