November 1, 2026
Good morning, America!
We’ve got an election coming up Tuesday, and apparently the number-one issue on everybody’s mind is the economy.
Well, no shit!
You don’t need a Ph.D. in economics to figure that out.
You just need to walk into a grocery store with a hundred dollars and see if you can make it out with enough food to survive until Thursday!
Remember when a hundred dollars bought you a week’s worth of groceries?
Now it buys you two bags, a carton of eggs, and a cashier asking if you’d like to donate to charity.
DONATE TO CHARITY?
Lady, I’m about three grocery trips away from BEING the charity!
And here’s what’s fascinating.
According to today’s New York Times, Americans across the political spectrum are saying the same thing.
Republicans, Democrats, independents.
Young people, old people, working families, retirees.
Everybody’s getting squeezed.
And the politicians?
They’re telling us the economy is doing great!
The stock market is up!
GDP is growing!
Investment is booming!
Well, that’s wonderful!
But you know what?
YOU CAN’T EAT THE STOCK MARKET!
You can’t put GDP in your gas tank!
And when the electric company threatens to turn off your power, you can’t call them up and say, “Don’t worry! The Dow Jones had a fantastic week!”
They don’t give a shit!
They want their money!
And so does everybody else!
Now, here’s where things get interesting.
Donald Trump ran for president promising to bring prices down.
Remember that?
Lower grocery prices!
Lower energy costs!
Lower mortgage rates!
He even talked about mortgage rates getting back to 2 percent.
Well, according to today’s reporting, inflation is at 3.7 percent, mortgage rates are above 7 percent, and gasoline prices have been driven higher by the war in Iran.
And tariffs?
Tariffs are taxes on imported goods paid by American importers, with costs that can be passed along to consumers.
That’s not a political opinion.
That’s how tariffs work!
Now, to be fair, presidents don’t control every price in the economy.
But when you make specific economic promises, voters are entitled to ask whether your policies are delivering.
And that’s exactly what’s happening.
Here’s what really bothers me.
We’ve reached a point in America where people are working full-time jobs and still can’t afford the basics.
Think about that.
You can work forty hours a week, fifty hours a week, sometimes sixty hours a week, and still struggle to afford housing, groceries, health care, and transportation.
What the hell happened to the American dream?
I’m 69 years old.
I grew up believing that if you worked hard, played by the rules, and treated people fairly, you could build a decent life.
You could buy a home.
Raise a family.
Put your kids through school.
Save for retirement.
Maybe take a vacation once in a while.
Nothing extravagant!
You weren’t asking for a yacht!
You just wanted a house with a backyard and enough money left over to buy a goddamn lawn mower!
But today?
Young Americans are looking at home prices and wondering whether they’ll ever own anything larger than a refrigerator.
And even that’s questionable because a decent refrigerator costs two thousand dollars!
And the apartment you’re renting?
Congratulations!
Your landlord just raised the rent another three hundred dollars!
But don’t worry!
The stock market’s doing great!
Now, I’ve been doing something interesting here in Greensboro, North Carolina.
I’m running for mayor in 2028, and I’ve started a project to interview one thousand people.
Not politicians.
Not lobbyists.
Not billionaires.
Ordinary people.
People walking down the street.
People sitting in coffee shops.
People who have real lives, real problems, and real dreams.
And you know what I discovered in my first hundred interviews?
The number-one concern was the economy.
Not political theater.
Not who insulted whom on television last night.
The economy.
And here’s what I’ve learned from talking to people.
They’re not necessarily asking to become rich.
They’re asking for a chance.
A chance to work hard and actually get somewhere.
A chance to afford a home.
A chance to raise children without constantly worrying about money.
A chance to get sick without going bankrupt.
A chance to retire without having to choose between groceries and prescription drugs.
THAT’S NOT AN OUTRAGEOUS DEMAND!
That’s what a functioning society ought to be working toward!
And this isn’t just about Donald Trump.
This problem didn’t begin with him.
It didn’t begin with Joe Biden.
We’ve been watching the American dream become increasingly expensive for decades.
Housing.
Education.
Health care.
Child care.
All climbing beyond the reach of millions of working Americans.
And every election, politicians show up promising to fix everything.
They shake hands.
They kiss babies.
They put on hard hats.
They visit diners.
Have you noticed politicians always visit diners?
Apparently, the only way to understand working Americans is to eat scrambled eggs in front of a television camera!
Then they get elected.
And somehow, the problems are still there.
Well, here’s my question.
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
Because I’ve spent the better part of this year learning something that has completely changed my life.
Participation.
That’s the answer.
Not complaining.
Not arguing with strangers on Facebook.
Not sitting on the couch yelling at the television.
PARTICIPATION!
I started the Truth Party because I believed Americans needed to become more involved in their government.
And the more people I talk to, the more convinced I become that meaningful change begins with ordinary citizens.
It begins with conversations.
It begins with asking questions.
It begins with listening.
And it begins with holding elected officials accountable.
Now, we’ve got an election Tuesday.
And I’m not going to tell you whom to vote for.
That’s your decision.
But I am going to tell you something.
If you’re worried about the economy, study what the candidates are proposing.
Ask how they’re going to make housing affordable.
Ask what they’re going to do about health care.
Ask how their tax policies will affect working families.
Ask how they’ll pay for their promises.
And when they give you some bullshit answer?
ASK AGAIN!
You know me.
I’m the guy who never stops asking WHY!
Why does a person working full-time struggle to afford rent?
Why does getting sick threaten someone’s financial future?
Why does a college education leave so many young people buried in debt?
And why, in the wealthiest country on Earth, do so many people feel like they’re falling behind?
Those are questions worth asking.
And they’re questions our elected officials should be prepared to answer.
Because the American dream shouldn’t be a luxury item.
It shouldn’t be something only wealthy families can pass down to their children.
It should be an opportunity available to everyone willing to pursue it.
Regardless of race.
Regardless of religion.
Regardless of where you were born.
Regardless of whether your parents were rich or poor.
That’s the America I want to see.
And that’s the America I want to leave behind.
But wishing for it isn’t enough.
We have to participate.
We have to organize.
We have to ask questions.
We have to listen to one another.
And we have to vote.
Because democracy isn’t a spectator sport.
IT’S A PARTICIPATION SPORT!
And if we want a government that listens to ordinary Americans, ordinary Americans have to make their voices heard.
So on Tuesday, make your own decision.
Vote according to your values, your priorities, and your vision for the future.
And then, on Wednesday morning?
Keep participating.
Because elections aren’t the finish line.
They’re one part of the process.
I’m John Eagleton.
This is the Truth Party.
And I believe we can build an America where hard work creates opportunity, where every person has a chance, and where the American dream is something more than an expensive memory.
But first…
WE SHOW UP!
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