SEN. LIESKE: Daily life is still difficult to afford

The other day I read a story about soaring credit card debt that shocked me, but didn't surprise me. Credit card debt in the U.S. hit another record, hitting $1.14 trillion. When you think about it, it makes sense. The price of groceries, rent, and gas has shot up over the last few years, and people are having a really hard time keeping up. To make matters worse, credit card interest rates are also reaching record highs – in August, the average new credit card interest rate was 24.84%. For those already struggling, carrying a balance means sinking deeper and deeper into debt.

Just last week, Neel Kashkari, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, gave the economy an "A," pointing out that the labor market is strong and inflation is coming down. But Kashkari also admitted that prices are probably not going to drop back to where they were before inflation spiked.

Kashkari's comments completely miss the stress and anxiety regular families are facing every day around rising costs. His honesty about prices never coming down also offers little comfort to the people in our area who are still feeling the effects of that runaway inflation, many of whom are continuing to live paycheck to paycheck or piling up credit card debt to make things work.

I hear regularly from folks who are still feeling squeezed. I talked to a man in his 30s recently who told me he is considering moving back in with his parents because the economy is so tough. I know others who did make that move because rents are so high. There are countless stories like this. These people aren't loafers; these are hard workers in a variety of fields with good jobs and college degrees. Despite their different backgrounds, they're all facing the same issue: life is just too expensive.

It's no surprise then that consumer confidence is at its lowest level since 2021. A recent story in Semafor noted the biggest drop in consumer confidence in three years happened last month. The economic stresses are putting a strain on working families.

We have to remember that a big part of these soaring costs comes from government policies that affect how much we pay for goods and services. Here is just one example: in 2023, Democrats indexed the gas tax to inflation, meaning it will increase every year automatically. This tax hike directly affects transportation costs, which are a significant component of the final price of goods like groceries. The higher the cost to transport goods, the higher the prices at stores.

Here is another: in Minnesota, we have some of the highest corporate taxes in the country. Those costs get passed down to consumers in the form of higher prices. Businesses that have to pay more in taxes and comply with expensive regulations and mandates end up charging more for their products.

I know the blue collar, working man side of us may feel like cheering high corporate taxes. After all, it's discouraging when we see big business profits soar while we struggle. The unfortunate reality is our state's high taxes don't hurt the big businesses, but they do hurt the little guy and they definitely hurt us consumers. Whether it's the cost of groceries, rent, or fuel, Minnesota families are paying more because of the policies enacted in St. Paul.

You should be able to afford to live a lot easier than this. We need to take a hard look at how high taxes and over regulation are making life unaffordable for the average person. We can't undo the Democrats' mistakes of the last couple of years, but cutting taxes, reducing unnecessary regulations, and putting more money back in people's pockets should be the focus of our economic policies starting right now. Because while some experts may think the economy is doing fine, the reality for many Minnesotans is a daily struggle.