America’s Affordability Crisis and How MAGA is Making it Worse

Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 17 February 2026

⏱️ 88 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

America is in an affordability crisis. Basic needs like groceries, rent, childcare, and healthcare keep getting more expensive, while wages struggle to keep up. Seventy-four percent of Americans say the economy is in poor shape, and for many Millennials and Gen Zers, the idea of owning a home is becoming laughable. Yet Donald Trump and his MAGA allies insist the economy has never been better. This week, Stacey sits down with U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal and New York Times Business Reporter Talmon Smith to break down the growing disconnect between what Americans are feeling in their wallets and what the White House is selling from the podium. They dig into the real state of the economy, the latest jobs numbers, and whether Democrats have found a message on affordability that actually meets the moment.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Learn & Do More:

Be Curious: If you enjoyed my conversation with Talmon Smith, check out his work at The New York Times and keep an eye out for his upcoming book, Clout and Capital, published by Simon & Schuster, when it’s released later this year.
Solve Problems: Seventy percent of Americans say raising children is too expensive. Many Democrats in Congress have joined forces in support of the Child Care for Every Community Act, which would lower childcare costs. Call your members of Congress and urge them to support this legislation. Call your governor and state representatives to ask them to back state legislation that would secure universal childcare in your state, like they have done in New Mexico.
Do Good: This year marks the 50th anniversary of Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit with roots in Georgia that builds safe, affordable housing around the world. Consider volunteering or donating to help families in your community who lack affordable housing. And it’s the most wonderful time of year—Girl Scout cookie season. Girl Scouts of Greater New York Troop 6000 is a first-of-its-kind program serving families in temporary housing in the New York City shelter system, helping them transition to permanent housing. Visit https://www.girlscoutsnyc.org/troop6000 to purchase cookies from their digital store.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Assembly required with Stacey Abrams is brought to you by Built.
0:03.7	It's 2026, and if you're still paying rent without Built, it's time for a change.
0:09.8	Built is a loyalty program for renters that rewards you for your biggest monthly expense, rent.
0:15.9	With Built, every rent payment earns you points that can be used towards flights, hotels, lift rides, Amazon.com purchases, and so much more.
0:25.4	And here's something really exciting.
0:27.7	Now, built members can earn points on mortgage payments for the first time.
0:32.4	That means you can get rewarded wherever you live and unlock exclusive benefits for more than 45,000 restaurants,
0:40.7	fitness studios, pharmacies, and other neighborhood partners. Personally, I'd redeem my points
0:46.5	for Bilt's travel portal and at my favorite restaurants. It's simple. Paying rent is better
0:53.1	with Bilt, and now owning a home can be better with built, too.
0:58.0	Earn rewards and get something back, wherever you live. Join the loyalty program for renters at
1:03.9	joinbilt.com slash assembly. That's j-o-in-B-I-T dot com slash assembly.
1:11.6	And make sure to use our URL so they know we sent you.
1:15.4	Hiring isn't just about finding someone willing to take the job.
1:18.9	You need the right person with a right background who can move your business forward.
1:22.9	If you want candidates who match what you're looking for, trust Indeed sponsored jobs. And listeners of the show
1:28.8	will get a 100-pound sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at
1:34.6	Indeed.com slash broadcast. Just go to Indeed.com slash broadcast right now and support this show
1:41.3	by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast.
1:46.1	Indeed.com slash broadcast.
1:48.0	Terms and conditions apply.
1:50.8	Hiring, do it the right way with Indeed.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.