# OK, Dems. What's the Plan? Affordability **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 30, 2026, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494 "2026-09-30T22:34:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/21 "2026-10-01T03:10:33Z")
Democrats will at least obstruct. Sort of like not being able to take someone to the hospital, but at least stopping the beating. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/22 "2026-10-01T03:33:16Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Are you arguing for lower prices? > > If so, supply must increase for price to come down. > > What is your proposal for an increase in supply? Not for everything. For example- Tariffs- they increase the price to the American consumer. Forgiving some medical debt. More ACA subsidies.Rolling back some gas taxes. > [@Velocity](#): > > Repeal tariffs, hand out more stimulus checks pandemic-style, tax the rich more, increase corporate income taxes, implement universal basic income, raise federal minimum wage, do single-payer, They will repeal Tariffs. Maybe trump will veto, but they will do it. Increase minimum wage- the same. _implement universal basic income-_ not on their shopping list and unpopular with voters. \*do single-payer-\*not on their shopping list and unpopular with voters. > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Re last post, I expect to see a Democratic Party circular firing squad because of not having passed the correct affordability bills that, whichever they are, Trump is sure to veto. AFAIK trump can not veto the war powers act limitations. They can cut the budget for certain things, like ICE, and then trump will have to veto the entire budget. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/23 "2026-10-01T04:34:32Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > This [minimum wage hike]… Sadly the democrats can’t get that passed in the senate. Biden and the democrats tried to pass a $15 minimum wage in 2021 as part of a budget reconciliation bill, but the senate parliamentarian struck it down and it wasn’t part of the final bill that got passed. [https://www.npr.org/2021/02/26/971793277/who-the-senate-parliamentarian-who-ruled-against-a-minimum-wage-increase](https://www.npr.org/2021/02/26/971793277/who-the-senate-parliamentarian-who-ruled-against-a-minimum-wage-increase) The last minimum wage hike before that was 2007 when Pelosi attached a minimum wage hike to an Iraq funding bill. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/24 "2026-10-01T11:42:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > AFAIK trump can not veto the war powers act limitations. This is legally true. But there’s the embarrassing-to-Democrats thing where Bill Clinton violated the war powers law in Kosovo, and got away with it: [War Powers Resolution: Presidential Compliance](https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33532.html) > [@](#): > > On February 18, 2000, the appeals court affirmed the opinion of the District Court that Representative Campbell and his co-plaintiffs lacked standing to sue the President. (Campbell v. Clinton, 203 F.3d 19 (D.C. Cir. 2000)). On May 18, 2000, Representative Campbell and 30 other Members of Congress appealed this decision to the United States Supreme Court. On October 2, 2000, the United States Supreme Court, without comment, refused to hear the appeal of Representative Campbell thereby letting stand the holding of the U.S. Court of Appeals. > [@DrDeth](#): > > They can cut the budget for certain things, like ICE, and then trump will have to veto the entire budget. I suppose for this to happen the Democrats have to end the filibuster. I’m for that. Will the new red state Democratic senators be a bunch of Manchins and Sinemas refusing to vote for that? Not sure. The realistic Democratic plan on affordability is to show that MAGA cares nothing about it. Should the plan include ending the filibuster, just to force Trump vetoes, knowing that ending the filibuster gave us nothing but a publicity victory? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/25 "2026-10-01T12:22:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > They can cut the budget for certain things, like ICE, and then trump will have to veto the entire budget. If I can correct my last post – this statement is true. No filibuster reform required. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/26 "2026-10-01T12:41:55Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Stop tariffs. Strangle Trump’s ability to continue the war. Those are the main things that got us into that mess and those are things they can actually do something about. This first response hits the nail on the head. ---
**Author:** ![JDYanYan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jdyanyan/32/21663_2.png) [@JDYanYan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDYanYan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/27 "2026-10-01T13:13:48Z")
I think federal decimations of NIMBY veto over housing construction has to be one of the biggest long term goals, as well as solar farm installation. We need to claw back the snap and medicaid subsidies killed by the 2025 reconciliation bill. We need a good neighbor act that keeps law abiding immigrants protected and contributing to our economy, we need tax reform that puts the screws to companies that have loopholed their way out of funding the common good. Better labor organization laws, and labor protections. Especially looking at rules to control silicon valley’s obsession with unjustifiable layoffs. We need to enforce anti trust laws. Now only some of these are what we can accomplish with just the legislative branch. But those should be the core goals to make American life more affordable. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/28 "2026-10-01T13:32:48Z")
They’ll try. They’ll fail. But not for lack of trying. Every significant inflationary event seems like a test of what the market will bear, and the new bar is set. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/29 "2026-10-01T14:03:01Z")
And let us not forget that a lot of these measures would result in affordability improvement in various spheres moving on forward, but the street-level voters are NOT going to see much **immediate** relief of whatever their problem is _right now._ And they’ll likely be upset it is so. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/30 "2026-10-01T14:09:33Z")
> [@JDYanYan](#): > > I think federal decimations of NIMBY veto over housing construction has to be one of the biggest long term goals, as well as solar farm installation. This is the Abundance philosophy, and it’s a great one. But can real progress be made at the federal level along these lines without the White House? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/31 "2026-10-01T14:27:16Z")
I think that if SNAP, medicaid and ACA subsidies are restored, that will be a very good thing. But to the voters on the street, it will feel like a return to the status quo, i.e.: the way things should have been all along, rather than a win in the Dem column for the next election. The removal of tariffs won’t result in substantive price reductions overall because those costs have already been priced in for the consumer. Doritos are not going to drop to $2.79 no matter what. Eggs and meat prices are not going to see significant downward adjustments. I don’t even think we’ll see the cost of fuel at the pump fall to pre-Iran-war levels. We’ve all filled our tanks at $5-$6 per gallon (depending on the state) and the oil companies know this. We’ll hear them talk about the increased cost of production of consumer fuels because refineries have been taken down for temporary maintenance, or re-stocking of national reserves, or whatever other bullshit. The Dem pols will make threatening noises but do nothing in the end. The current bar is more or less set and the best we can hope for is that it will hold long enough for us to forget how good we had it. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/32 "2026-10-01T14:48:36Z")
So no credit for stopping a runaway train? Now the Democrats are expected to also put it in reverse? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/33 "2026-10-01T14:51:58Z")
Err…yes? If you fire a head coach for having many 5-12 losing seasons in a row, and then his replacement head coach comes in, and he continues to have 5-12 losing seasons (but didn’t go 0-17,) he would eventually have the fanbase calling for him to be fired, too. The whole point of firing the old coach is for the new coach (Democrats) to put that train in reverse and get back to winning. ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/34 "2026-10-01T15:02:02Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > The current bar is more or less set and the best we can hope for is that it will hold long enough for us to forget how good we had it. The actual problem right now is inflation, not price level. Genuine deflation would be much worse economically than 4-5% inflation. The smart policy goal would be to reduce price inflation to less than 3% while maintaining growth so that Americans can continue to build real wealth and quality of life improvements. Not to mention address assets like real estate that are getting harder for people to get an entry point. A lot of polticians (democrats included) unfortunately talk about it as though it would be good to bring prices back down to what they were before. We’re in a cynical era where people don’t like to acknowledge this, but real wages have have up. They saw a slight dip when post-covid inflation first hit but have gone up since. There is no way to push prices down without pushing wages down barring the government just subsidzing the gap. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/35 "2026-10-01T15:05:26Z")
Stopping a runaway train is a good thing. It’s a whole other thing to also make credible claims about ticket refunds. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/36 "2026-10-01T15:16:27Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > The whole point of firing the old coach is for the new coach (Democrats) to put that train in reverse and get back to winning. I don’t know if that’s a great analogy. That posits that the incoming Democrats will be no different than the Republicans. That won’t be the case. A better analogy would be firing the old coach who was 5-12, and bringing a new coach who flips that around and has a 12-5 record, but still being disappointed that they didn’t win the championship. A reasonable fan would be thrilled with that turnaround and hope that maybe next year they’ll be even better and have a chance to win it all. (Of course voters aren’t really known for being reasonable.) ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/37 "2026-10-01T15:16:59Z")
> [@DeadTreasSecretaries](#): > > There is no way to push prices down If you get rid of these ridiculous tariffs and declare victory and leave the Iran war, prices to consumers will certainly come down. For example, if I put a 100% tax on cigarettes, their price will go up. Are you saying that if I remove that tax then prices won’t come down? Because that’s what the tariffs are, and that’s the effect of the war in Iran. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/38 "2026-10-01T15:20:08Z")
I think we should temper our expectations. Businesses have been eating some of the costs on the imposed tariffs. I think most will be inclined to claw that back after the tariffs are lifted. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/39 "2026-10-01T15:30:30Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > > [@Atamasama](#): > > > > Stop tariffs. Strangle Trump’s ability to continue the war. Those are the main things that got us into that mess and those are things they can actually do something about. > > This first response hits the nail on the head. The tariffs are already illegal. There are some unconstitutional laws shifting to the president the constitutional congressional power to set tariffs. Sure, repeal those laws and let Trump veto. But Trump’s tariffs are not following those laws. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494/40 "2026-10-01T15:30:45Z")
Definitely. But, prices will come down, and declaring victory and leaving Iran will also settle things down. Finally, if we make it clear that we 100% back Ukraine, maybe Russia will declare victory and leave, another source of high gas prices. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-dems-whats-the-plan-affordability/1033494.md?page=3)