Last Friday, burritos became something of an symbol in a debate about affordability. Stemming from a viral social media post, the topic has been debated throughout the X platform.
AFN reported how Matt Walsh, a host at The Daily Wire, kicked off the debate by complaining about the rise of grocery prices in an X post.
Walsh suggested that “addressing this problem should be the number one priority of every elected leader.”
Anyone who insists it's not a problem is showing “stunning levels of suicidal idiocy," he argued.
The “burrito” entered in the debate when Andrew Kolvet, a Turning Point USA spokesman, validated Walsh’s point, saying a college student told him a “burrito shouldn’t cost $20.”
Some Republicans have responded with a “stop whining/get a job” mentality.
Richard Stern, vice president of the Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise, at Advancing American Freedom, spoke on American Family Radio about the issue. While some political influencers have blamed young people for eating out too much, Stern says that pointing fingers at consumers completely misses the mark.
He argues that the real villain is Washington, D.C.
"It is the slow drip, the slow theft of the federal government, frankly, over decades — between printing money to cover its own deficits and causing inflation for most Americans, or through tax policy and regulatory policy that has made it harder and harder for people to buy homes, cars, all kinds of other things," Stern told show host Jenna Ellis.
He points directly to pandemic-era fiscal policies and money-printing as the main triggers behind skyrocketing mortgage rates and grocery bills up nearly 30%.
Furthermore, he warns that if conservatives want to win over frustrated voters this November, they need to stop lecturing consumers and return to core free-market principles.
"The thing we need to rally back around, something that we all used to remember as conservatives, is that it's individual entrepreneurs and innovators that build the future. The thing to do is get out of their way. It's to get government out of the way," Stern said. .
Along with groceries and restaurant food, other areas affected by the affordability crisis include rent/home prices, student tuition, healthcare, electricity/utility bills and gasoline prices.
