New York Post
· collected 2026-10-01 · by Larry Kudlow, Stephen Moore
A Republican-aligned opinion piece argues that despite strong economic indicators under President Donald Trump, high gas prices are causing consumer dissatisfaction. The author highlights record job growth, increased household incomes to $87,500 in 2025, and a surge in domestic oil production as evidence of Trump's successful economic policies. To address voter concerns about affordability, the piece suggests Republicans should emphasize tax cuts for middle-class families and eliminate certain taxes on stocks and homes, positioning themselves against Democrats' proposed higher taxation.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-01,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
What a paradox: Almost all US economic indicators are strong today, and America’s economy is the envy of the world — yet consumers, stressed by gas prices at almost $4.50 a gallon, are in a bad mood.
asserted
consumers → stress → mood
That’s why Republicans need to go bold and sell the good news about President Donald Trump’s economy to voters.
asserted
Republicans → ’ → voters
After all, median household incomes jumped to an all-time-high of $87,500 in 2025, while poverty rates fell to an all-time low.
asserted
rates → jump → low
The latest jobs numbers show very low numbers of firings and layoffs, and record low sign-ups for unemployment benefits, as manufacturing and construction surge.
asserted
manufacturing → show → benefits
The Energy Department just announced that domestic oil production is at all-time record levels, thanks to Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” policies.
asserted
production → announce → policies
Meanwhile the 401(k) plans held by more than 100 million Americans, a useful gauge of household wealth, are up an average of $25,000 — after losing $24,000, in real terms, under former President Joe Biden.
asserted
plans → hold → Biden
The stock market is at an all-time high, nearly doubling in the decade since Trump was first elected, even as the markets of two of our major economic rivals, China and Japan, have been flat.
But elections are about tomorrow, not yesterday — so celebrating these gains, strong as they are, isn’t enough to convince voters to stay the course.
asserted
they → double → course
And while the $5,000 government “dividend” payment that Trump floated in September may be a political non-starter, there’s a better way.
uncertain
Trump → float → September
Republicans should pledge a sustainable “financial dividend” by continuing to slash taxes for middle-class families — expanding the work they started in their One Big Beautiful Bill a year ago.
asserted
they → pledge → Bill
That means making the bill’s individual tax cuts (tax-free tips, overtime and Social Security payments) permanent, along with 100% permanent depreciation for machinery, equipment, plants and data centers — pro-growth incentives that will expand the jobs boom.
asserted
that → mean → boom
They should also eliminate the unfair capital-gains inflation tax on stocks and homes, which would free up supply and make buying a new home less expensive.
asserted
buying → eliminate → home
This tax-slashing agenda will offer a sharp and much-needed contrast in the midterm elections, as Democrats keep pushing to raise tax rates.
asserted
Democrats → slash → rates
They’re stumping all over the country promoting the Bernie Sanders line, replete with big-government, free-lunch socialist solutions.
asserted
They → stump → solutions
If the GOP argues instead for free-enterprise prosperity, it’ll make a clear case for voters to choose the alternative that’s demonstrably best for family finances.
asserted
that → argue → finances
That’s because Trump’s agenda already has delivered high financial returns for families.
asserted
agenda → ’ → families
In his first term, real median household income rose by $6,600 — and only the COVID lockdowns of 2020 kept that from becoming a nearly $8,000 median “dividend” per family.
asserted
lockdowns → rise → family
Compare that to Biden, who oversaw a paltry $500 gain in median family income during his four years in the White House.
asserted
who → compare → House
So far, through the first year and a half of Trump’s second term, real median income is up an additional $2,000 — that’s above inflation.
asserted
that → ’ → inflation
These are also pretax numbers: Including the value of the Trump tax cuts adds at least $2,000 more to middle-class annual disposable incomes.
asserted
Including → include → incomes
Add it all together and we estimate — based on Census numbers and the value of the Democrat-opposed Trump tax cuts — that the median-income family has gained just under $10,000 in purchasing power in Trump’s first five-plus years in office.
asserted
family → add → office
That’s almost 20 times more than Biden delivered in four years.
asserted
Biden → ’ → years
In fact, most of the affordability crisis that’s driving voter anxiety was created during Biden’s presidency: About 80% in the rise in prices happened from 2021 to 2024, when inflation rose by more than any presidency since Jimmy Carter’s.
asserted
inflation → drive → Carter
GOP candidates should be shouting these numbers from the rooftops — because the media sure won’t.
asserted
media → shout → rooftops
Republicans, don’t run away from the Trump economic miracle: Celebrate the fact that America is leading the world, thanks to our strategy of successful tax cuts, deregulation and energy dominance.
asserted
America → run → cuts
That’s a strong closing argument in these last few weeks of election season.
asserted
That → ’ → season
The Aporia
