This Mother’s Day, we’re all feeling the pinch – brunch and fresh cut flowers are more expensive than ever. And as a mom of two young boys, my family knows how much more we are spending on groceries week to week, how much more it costs to fill up at the pump, and how much more we are seeking out free family activities instead of ones that cost us more money.
But it’s not just the current prices and ongoing inflation that worry me. What keeps me up at night is my fear that the American Dream will no longer be attainable for my children – the American Dream that brought my grandma here from England at just 19 years old with an infant in her arms, led my parents to be the first in their families to graduate from college, and affords me the opportunity to be a mom, have a fulfilling career, and own a home.
Politicians in Washington either don’t know, or don’t care, about what real families are experiencing right now. And it’s not just families with young kids like mine. I hear from recently retired men and women who are choosing to go back to work because they can’t afford groceries on a fixed income. And small business owners who make the tough choice every day either to raise prices on their customers again or not make payroll for their employees.
The agenda of U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, R-Wisconsin, and President Joe Biden has hurt those the most who could least afford to be hurt. Since March 2021, Baldwin has supported every one of President Biden’s radical spending plans, including the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, and the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. Legislation that is responsible for the highest levels of inflation America has seen in four decades and radically increasing our national debt.
The tragedy is that our children will be the ones left to clean up this mess, to pay for debt they didn’t create, and suffer through the consequences of someone else’s actions.
These same politicians are doubling and tripling down on these big-government agendas: trillions in new wasteful spending, our national debt creeping closer to $35 trillion every day, and regulations that take away choice and opportunity for workers. The path these politicians have put us on is unsustainable and is mortgaging my children’s future and the American Dream.
Many families and parents need to work and sacrifice more just to be able to afford everyday essentials. Since the beginning of Biden’s term, the average child care payment has gone up 32 percent, and in the last year alone, the price of baby food and formula has increased by 8.7 percent. Grocery prices are up 25%, natural gas is up 29%, and home energy costs are up 25%. This is all in just the last three years, under the policies pushed by President Biden and Senator Baldwin.
With these ever-rising prices, Mother’s Day celebrations might look a little different than past years. For me, it will mean spending the day at home with my kids with a homemade brunch, made with generic brand food items, to save on weekly food costs.
