There are two political truisms that become more and more apparent as we get closer to the November elections. First of all, the issues voters care most about are affordability and the cost of living. Second, when it comes to these issues and managing inflation, President Trump is deeply, deeply underwater.
The Democrats know that, given broad voter dissatisfaction with the cost of groceries, gas, health care, and so many other consumer items, they have the momentum on this issue. On another issue that is very high on the list of voter anxieties, Democrats have tied artificial intelligence to affordability—for any number of reasons that range from fear of job loss to the impact on electricity and water rates. The AI issue is one that is unpopular across the political spectrum, just as affordability concerns run deep regardless of party affiliation.
The Democrats are being given a huge boost on both of these issues by how President Trump has handled them. His policies have directly impacted consumer prices—from tariffs to the war with Iran and its impact at the gas pump, not to mention pushing through legislation that significantly raised the cost of healthcare for millions. Moreover, Trump talks about “affordability” as a “hoax”’ with such disdain, as if it is a notion invented by the press and Democrats.
In other words, he demonstrates regularly how out of touch he is with the struggles of average Americans. When it comes to AI, Trump has positioned himself as an advocate for the technology with no sensitivity toward the need for guardrails, particularly when it comes to the impact on consumer prices in the form of electricity and water bills. On the other hand, Democrats, in looking to constrain the growth of AI, have in some ways positioned themselves as against the technology in many ways without aligning themselves in a meaningful way with the potential positive impact on education, health care, and many other aspects of everyday life.
The Democrats can effectively lampoon Trump on his indifference to affordability, but if they are successful in flipping the House and the Senate, what they are able to do meaningfully to bring down consumer prices is probably very little. They will not be able to solve Iran’s new role in the Strait of Hormuz and the near-term impact on gas prices, nor impact the direction of the Fed on interest rates, nor even reinstate Obamacare health benefits up against Trump’s veto. However, they could do something very tangible when it comes to impacting the consumer’s pocketbook while at the same time aligning themselves with an initiative that could highlight one of the great societal benefits that AI could bring about.
This is a proposal I made two years ago in this column and urged Democrats to pursue, but as affordability and AI have come to the forefront of American politics, it is only more relevant today. The idea is the creation of an AI-driven reservoir of consumer prices across supermarkets, drug stores, gas stations, big box retailers, and online retailers, so that consumers can know exactly, at any given time, where the best price is on any given item they look to purchase. As sensitive as consumers are to higher prices, they are also quite lazy when it comes to finding the best deals.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
