Democrats’ favorite buzzword these days is “affordability.” They’ve tried to spin the elections of socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani in deep-blue New York City and Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger in solidly blue Virginia as referenda on President Donald Trump’s agenda. That narrative ignores both recent history and the reality in front of us: Trump’s policies are designed to make America affordable again.
Under the Biden administration, prices surged. Inflation ran at nearly a 5% annualized rate, rivaled only by the Carter-era price spikes of the 1970s that crushed American living standards. By contrast, during Trump’s first term, inflation stayed below a 2% annualized rate.
Voters remembered that combination of low inflation and strong growth—and they responded by re-electing Trump. After four years of economic strain under Biden, Americans chose Trump’s economic stewardship once again. From day one of his second term, Trump began laying the foundation for what he calls a Golden Age economy. There is still plenty of work to do to undo the damage of the previous administration, but progress is underway.
A central piece of that effort is the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), crafted to Make America Affordable Again. Three core provisions of the OBBB are designed to boost workers’ take-home pay.
The first is permanent full expensing of business investment, commonly known as capital expenditures, or “capex.” With this reform, companies can immediately write off the full cost of items like computers, industrial machinery, software and other equipment. When businesses increase capex, workers gain access to better tools and technologies, which raises productivity. Higher productivity has historically translated into higher wages and improved living standards, as companies can afford to pay their employees more.
The second key provision builds on that capex incentive and may be even more powerful. Businesses can now deduct the entire cost of constructing a manufacturing plant or agricultural structure in the first year of building.
Previously, companies had to wait nearly 40 years to fully depreciate factories and farm structures. That’s no longer the case. This new tax break is expected to spark a surge in industrial construction and support the reshoring of supply chains. That means high-paying construction jobs in the near term and, once the projects are completed, well-paying jobs inside these facilities—jobs that will utilize cutting-edge technologies enabled by the capex incentives. The result will be an industrial boom.
Working together, a capex surge and an industrial building wave will expand the economy’s productive capacity—a combination that has historically been disinflationary. In other words, inflation is likely to fall further, giving workers additional breathing room. At the same time, nominal wages will be rising. That one-two punch—higher pay and lower inflation—sets the stage for major gains in real wages, potentially even surpassing the strong performance of Trump’s first term.
The third provision aimed squarely at affordability is the elimination of taxes on tips and overtime pay. By removing these taxes, workers keep more of what they earn. This is especially important for lower- and middle-income households, which were hit hardest by the previous administration’s economic policies. Real after-tax wages for blue-collar workers are poised to climb significantly under Trump’s economic agenda.
From higher take-home pay for working families to targeted tax incentives that encourage a disinflationary boom, the One Big Beautiful Bill is designed to Make America Affordable Again. This landmark tax reform seeks to ensure that Main Street thrives alongside Wall Street in President Trump’s envisioned Golden Age economy.
