Pinching pennies, casting ballots: a midterms dispatch from the Midwest
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The Midwest used to be known as an affordable place to live. Lately, though, many people there are having a hard time making ends meet. In this episode of The Sunday Story, Holly Edgell and Daniel Wheaton from NPR’s Midwest Newsroom bring us the voices of Midwesterners. We hear about how people in the region are struggling financially, and how the affordability crisis is impacting their votes in the midterms.
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You can hear more of the “Costly” series here
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
I'm Aisha Roscoe, and this is a Sunday story from Up First. Politicians are saying it. We have an affordability crisis in this country. The affordability crisis literally feels like drowning in costs. Voters are saying it. The affordability crisis that Americans across the country are dealing with. People can't afford a rent. People can't afford gas. This election cycle, the word affordability, has most definitely entered the chat. Coles show the cost of living is on people whose minds, as they consider their choices in the midterm elections, just a week away. And in the Midwest, an area of the country that has traditionally been one of the most affordable places to live, voters are feeling stretched thin. I mean, I am doing independent contract to work as tutoring and passing just to help make extra money to pay for gas in my car. The Midwest Newsroom has been talking to people in four states, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa about the impact of rising cost in their region. You can look at costs, and by that measure, the Midwest looks relatively affordable. But what people are bringing in is also lower. So for basic parts of family budgets-- health care, child care, housing, rent-- earnings are just not keeping up. Today on the Sunday story, we'll hear from Midwesterners about the impact of rising costs and other financial pain points, and whether affordability, or lack thereof, is driving their decisions at the polls in November. Stay with us. Stay tuned for the following announcements and messages from our sponsors. This message comes from Prolon with their five-day fasting mimicking diet, a clinically developed nutrition program with the goal of promoting fat loss while protecting lean body mass. Learn more at prolonlife.com/npr. This message comes from Mattress Firm. When you share a bed, even the smallest movement can turn into a restless night and leave you feeling less refreshed in the morning. Mattress Firm's sleep experts will match you with a bed designed for uninterrupted sleep, like a temper pedic made with unique temper material that absorbs motion so you can rest undisturbed and wake refreshed.
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