For millions of Americans heading to the polls on Tuesday, affordability is a constant and worsening issue, and it’s been a prevailing concern this election cycle.
asserted
it → head → Tuesday
In Lorain county, Ohio, Gina Jones and her co-workers at the Lorain county job and family services have been on strike since February 2026, the longest public sector strike in Ohio history and on pace to break the US record for longest public sector strike.
asserted
Jones → break → strike
Ohio voted for Donald Trump in 2024 by more than 5%.
asserted
Ohio → vote → %
As the final day of voting nears, Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown has a slight lead on Republican Senate incumbent Jon Husted in polling, and the economy has been a key factor in the fight.
asserted
economy → near → fight
“They don’t pay a living wage any more.
asserted
They → pay → wage
They used to,” Jones said.
asserted
Jones → use → ?
“Our healthcare coverage has stayed the same, but the cost of it has changed significantly.
asserted
cost → stay → it
It used to be $35 a month for a family.
asserted
It → use → family
In January it’s going to be $600 a month for a family for the same coverage.
asserted
it → go → coverage
She said as wages have lagged, with starting pay at about $15 an hour, health insurance costs have eaten up any wage gains to the extent that some employees are making less than when they started.
asserted
they → say → less
Negotiations for a new union contract broke down with the county, now led by three Republican commissioners, as workers are pushing for a $1 an hour increase to their base pay.
asserted
workers → break → pay
Daniel Petticord, the deputy director of the Lorain county jobs and family services, said in an email “management believes it recognizes the important efforts of our bargaining unit employees while maintaining fiscal responsibility,” and blamed the union for walking away from negotiations.
asserted
it → say → negotiations
“We service the clients of Lorain county that are the poorest of the community, and some of the people that work at jobs and family services qualify for those same services,” Jones said.
asserted
Jones → service → services
“We’re hoping that with the Ohio governor election, that we get somebody in there who will be in favor of labor and see the fact that people don’t make a living wage in Lorain county any more.”
asserted
people → hop → county
In Minnesota, Bob Mattila, a special education paraprofessional in Minneapolis and SEIU Local 284 member, is looking for elected officials who will back state legislation that would increase pay for himself and his co-workers to $25 an hour and to lower their costs for health insurance.
asserted
that → look → insurance
“We simply aren’t paid enough to do the vitally important work that we do,” Mattila said.
asserted
Mattila → pay → that
“I even take state health insurance because they decided I don’t make enough money.
asserted
I → take → money
Those three things are critical to what we need out of our work and what we deserve from our elected officials,” he added.
asserted
he → need → officials
“Having very labor-friendly people in places of power is going to give workers like me things that we need to live, because we’re at a point where I can’t afford to put $50 of gas every time when I fill up my car when I’m not even making $25 an hour.
asserted
I → have → 25
Labor leaders see a real advantage for Democrats now that so much focus is on the economy.
asserted
focus → see → economy
“The labor movement’s been talking about the issues that affect workers and the kitchen table for decades, and we’re now seeing that everybody else got the memo,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the US, which has been pushing to turn out 16 million union family voters this election.
asserted
which → talk → voters
“It’s pervasive.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Everywhere I travel, every campaign that you see is talking about what working people are struggling through, and it’s the cost of gas, groceries, rent and healthcare, but it’s also the fact that our pay just can’t keep up with the rising prices.”
asserted
pay → travel → prices
In Detroit, Michigan, another key battleground state, 27-year-old Bailee Porter, who has worked at Detroit Diesel and is a member of the United Auto Workers, has been canvassing for candidates such as Democrat Abdul El-Sayed for the US Senate, citing his support for Medicare for All, which the UAW has also backed.
asserted
UAW → work → which
She said rising prices of basic necessities have made budgeting and cutting back on essentials like groceries a common worry.
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budgeting → say → groceries
“It’s just costly on every aspect.
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It → ’ → aspect
It’s disrupting people’s routines, so it’s ridiculous.
asserted
it → disrupt → routines
I don’t even want to talk about utility bills.
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I → want → bills
It’s just insane,” said Porter.
asserted
Porter → ’ → ?
Your basic necessities have to be affordable.
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necessities → have → ?
They have to be.
asserted
They → have → ?
Legislation needs to be changed or enforced or written to where it can help the middle class and labor.
asserted
it → need → class
But the financial struggles experienced by many Americans are unlikely to be easily alleviated no matter who wins the midterms.
asserted
who → experience → midterms
Joe Biden, the US’s most pro-labor president in recent history, also failed to appease voters who were feeling left behind.
asserted
who → fail → voters
Researchers have noted the federal government’s definition of and tracking of poverty doesn’t account for the struggles Americans are facing, as the federal poverty line is outdated from the 1960s and doesn’t account for geographic discrepancies in costs of living.
asserted
line → note → living
“The percent of people that are struggling is so much higher than our official statistics are revealing,” said Dr Stephanie Hoopes, an economist and director of United for Alice.
asserted
Hoopes → struggle → Alice
“These are often people who are keeping our economy running smoothly and fueling our economic growth, and yet they’re struggling to support their own families.”
asserted
they → keep → families
-
41.3% of US households, more than 54.5m households, faced financial hardship in 2024, according to a 2026 report by United for Alice.
uncertain
% → face → Alice
-
12.5% of US households made under the federal poverty level threshold, an income of $15,060 annually for a single individual and $31,200 for a family of four.
asserted
% → make → four
-
28.8% of US households were Alice: asset limited, income constrained and employed.
asserted
% → limit → households
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
