Affordability Crisis

The Hidden Reasons Why You Can’t Afford A House

affordability

Economy

House Prices

Housing Crisis

Illegal Immigration

Inflation

In 1992, Barenaked Ladies released “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aynCgnbbgbM">If I Had $1,000,000</a>,” a track detailing all the things they’d buy with those stacks of cash. Offering little in the way of social commentary and more in the way of silly fun, the song became a crowd favorite despite never being a single nor having a video made for it. And at the time, it was accurate. One could buy quite a few things with $1,000,000 in 1992. Arguably, $1,000,000 in 1992 would make one rich.
In 2026, not so much. To achieve <a href="https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm">comparable purchasing power</a> in 2026, one would need $2,361,684.28, a 137% increase. And not everything is <a href="https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1992?amount=1000000%23">staying on track</a> with that inflationary level. For example, had Barenaked Ladies bought the house mentioned in the song in 1992, the median price was around $120,000. Since that time, the cost of housing has increased by 158%. Medical care is up 211%. Food and beverage grew by 148%.
One bright spot is that the emu they considered purchasing has gone in the opposite direction. Back in 1992, emu farming was a highly speculative business. To buy one, you’d have to pony up between $18,000 and $25,000. Today, you can get an emu for a mere $800-$2,500, making it one of the few times Homer was correct to ignore Marge’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LAfxAr-sqto">advice</a>.
If your job at the nuclear power plant forces you to go back to college, though, you’re facing an entirely different animal. In 1992, the average tuition for a state school was $2,349. Today, it’s $10,340, an increase of 340%. On the plus side, though, universities have drastically watered down course difficulty, making it that much easier to earn a degree that doesn’t truly prepare kids for a rapidly changing world.
The problem isn’t really the inflation, though inflation in healthcare and education is an issue. The problem is that we haven’t inflated our definitions of wealth since 1992. Financial reporters and businesses, for example, love to discuss the changing behaviors of affluent shoppers. For example, did you know that people earning over $100,000 annually <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/20/how-walmart-won-over-wealthy-shoppers.html">shop at Walmart</a>? Does anyone think $100,000 is really that much money, though?
Because it’s not. The median individual income in the United States is <a href="https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/smart-money/average-salary-in-us">$62,088</a>. Household income pushes that number up to $<a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/learn/median-household-income">83,730</a>. The individual number may be farther from $100,000 than the household number, but are we really going to pretend that an additional $17,000-38,000 is the difference between average and affluent?
On the business side, it’s easy to understand why frugal companies want to appeal to all shoppers. Wealthy people don’t experience economic downturns the same way as those working paycheck to paycheck. The wealthy can continue making discretionary purchases when the economy heads south, helping maintain profits, while those with tighter budgets cut back.
When it comes to members of the media who parrot those lines about the price of affluence, it does a disservice to the public, at least the portion of the public that still trusts mainstream media. (Current level: 28%, a decrease of 51.72% from 1992.) As such, it’s time to update the way we talk about these things.
For a while, Barenaked Ladies were just singing songs. We as a people need accurate information, including accurate information about what constitutes true wealth. To retire, you’re going to need at least a million. The median cost of a house isn’t quite half a million, but <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS">it’s close</a>. We now have the world’s <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/spacex-ipo-elon-musk-trillionaire-net-worth">first trillionaire</a>, which is super impressive, but it is important to keep things in perspective.
Because having $1,000,000 isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in 2026. It’s important that you shouldn’t turn it down if you get the opportunity, but it’s not going to make you wealthy. So instead of mischaracterizing what it means to be a millionaire, let’s aspire to join their ranks, if for no other reason than we want to enjoy our golden years. And while we’re at it, let’s also refrain from using the word “rich” to denote having large amounts of financial resources. Instead, say “wealthy.” I’m Rich and, like Elon the trillionaire, there is only one of me. Unlike the trillionaire, though, I cannot fund interplanetary travel, especially not when gas is so expensive.
***
Rich Cromwell is a writer living in Northwest Arkansas. He produces the Cookin&#8217; Up a Story podcast, which you can listen to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cookin-up-a-story/id1624969096">here</a>. You can also follow him on X: @rcromwell4

Retro Television Gameshow Broadcast

The Barenaked Ladies Challenge: If You Have A Million Dollars, Are You Rich?

Barenaked Ladies

DW Opinion

wealth

The media and their allies keep saying there’s only one way to win the war in Iran: lose.
Let Iran have a path toward a nuclear bomb, give them a boatload of cash, and beg them to leave the Strait of Hormuz alone. The alternative, they say, is endless war.
That&#8217;s colossally stupid.
First of all, the war in Iran doesn&#8217;t have to be endless. Second, giving Iran a clear pathway toward a nuke, ballistic missile development, funding of terror, billions of dollars in cash, and the capacity to continue shutting down traffic in the Strait — that’s losing.
Alternatively, we could do this thing called winning.
That’s what President Trump may now be considering.
The real reason people in the United States are very concerned about what&#8217;s happening in Iran is inflation; if we weren&#8217;t experiencing price inflation due to the energy cutoff, no one would care. It would just be something that&#8217;s happening quite far away, especially because the military has done an extraordinary job of minimizing the damage to the U.S. and our allies.
The reason people are worried right now is that inflation is coming in very hot. As <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/10/heres-the-inflation-breakdown-for-may-2026-in-one-chart.html">reported</a> by CNBC, the annualized inflation rate in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, clocked in at 4.2%; it rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5% for the month.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ben-shapiro-show-ep-2443?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-981859" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner.avif" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner.avif 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner-768x128.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
If you exclude food and energy prices because of the war in Iran, the so-called core Consumer Price Index accelerated to 0.2% for the month and 2.9% from a year ago, which is not amazing, but it&#8217;s not terrible either. The annual rate was in line with the forecast. The monthly gain was below the 0.3% estimate and less than the 0.4% increase in April.
What we&#8217;re really watching right now is a temporary price spike caused by a bottleneck in energy supply in the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump was asked about this and effectively stated that, despite the fact that we&#8217;re in a war, inflation numbers are much lower than anticipated, and when we&#8217;re out of that war, the numbers will be lower than they were before it even started.
That’s true.
So how do we get to the end of this war?
Iran has been tapping the United States, as per their usual arrangement. Frankly, I&#8217;m a little surprised that whoever was advising President Trump got this so wrong. They certainly should not have. I don&#8217;t know whether it was the Witkoff team or the vice president&#8217;s office that was leading the negotiations through Pakistan, which is a Chinese cutout.
But the idea that Iran was ever going to be in negotiations, give up its nuclear program, its ballistic missile capacity, or its funding of Iranian terror groups abroad, was not a great premise. You can tell it&#8217;s not a great premise because if the offer to Iran is “You get to reenter the world economy, if you do all those things,” you know what&#8217;s been on the table for decades?
All of this.
If Iran had given up its extraterritorial ambitions, if it had not threatened its neighbors with ballistic missiles, if it had not tried to develop nuclear weapons, if it had been clear and open about all of that, they&#8217;d be in exactly the same position as Qatar or UAE or Bahrain or Saudi Arabia, none of which are democracies, all of which have Islamic law written into their constitutions and all of which are well integrated into the world economy.
Iran could have reintegrated itself into the world economy at any time. In other words, the sort of carrot that is being offered by the negotiators is not a carrot at all. Iran has had that carrot the entire time.
The ceasefire was misbegotten, a bad idea.
The reason it was a bad idea is that it gave Iran hope. And when you give the Iranian regime hope, they push. When you give them an inch, they take several hundred miles. They try to link up all of their terror apparatus by linking activity in Lebanon to activity in Iran.
The idea is that if Israel strikes Hezbollah in Lebanon, then Iran will fire missiles at Israel. They are trying to link all these causes and create a regional hegemony for themselves.
There&#8217;s really only one way to stop all of that: To exert extraordinary pressure on Iran and to show that you are willing to take what Iran is willing to dish out in return.
That is the only way to win a war.
In response to the Iranians shooting down an American helicopter yesterday, U.S. military forces struck air defenses and radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz.
Will that actually generate any meaningful concessions from Iran?
I&#8217;m highly doubtful because Iran is not led by people chiefly concerned with the economy. I think they are only worried about one thing: the preservation of their regime. What they&#8217;re worried about is that if their economy continues to tank, eventually there will be a movement inside the country to overthrow them.
The phrase that&#8217;s often been used about the Iranian government is that the Iranian government has never won a war or lost a negotiation.
If you&#8217;d want them to lose the negotiation, they need to lose the war. You don&#8217;t win by simply playing not to lose.
Today, President Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116731447139970106">stated</a>:
<blockquote>The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT. At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America.</blockquote>
I said on March 19: “In my opinion, the faster you move, the better. And so my temptation would be to take Kharg Island. My temptation would be to do it; if that requires putting special operators on the ground to do it, I would do it. My temptation would be to basically obliterate the entire coastline where Iran is firing drones and missiles at ships, and then to provide whatever help is necessary in order to provoke a popular uprising in Tehran.”
That seems to be the strategy now.
This morning, Trump said:
<blockquote>They’re finished. But the papers, the media refuse to write it. They&#8217;re finished. We can walk in there tomorrow. We could take soldiers. I don&#8217;t want to have boots on the ground, but if I wanted to, we could put a small group of soldiers and take over the whole place. They’re finished.</blockquote>
Declaring they&#8217;re finished is not the same thing as finishing them.
You need to close it out. That&#8217;s the only way to do it.
The Treasury Department is ready to close it out. Scott Bessent <a href="https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/2065052043442552855?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2065052043442552855%7Ctwgr%5E7dbbc299142d28ff744c8d814fa17529695cec63%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ndtvprofit.com%2Fworld%2Fus-vows-to-use-irans-frozen-funds-to-compensate-gulf-allies-offset-hormuz-toll-11623151">wrote</a> this morning:
<blockquote>The Iranian regime will lose the zero sum game it is playing. Any damage it inflicts on our allies in the Gulf will be paid for with funds extracted from running accounts. And it also paid to the Persian Gulf state authority will be offset by funds extracted from their accounts. Every attack Iran launches will only deepen the economic and financial consequences it faces.</blockquote>
Buried in this tweet is one of the things that can solve the problem: a lot of worry about the Iranians responding to American action by firing a bunch of missiles at gas and oil facilities in places like Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. That has been the big concern.
But Bessent is saying that if they do that, we will just pay the targeted governments with Iranian money because we&#8217;ve frozen the Iranian assets.
With all that said, President Trump is going to have to overcome not only the Iranian military and government; he&#8217;s going to have to overcome people who legitimately dislike America here at home and want him to lose this war.

trump_khamennei_padded

The One Outcome The Left Can’t Stomach

Ben Shapiro

Ceasefire

Iran Nuclear Deal

Iran war

Opinion

Strait of Hormuz

Inflation ticked up to 4.2% in May, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 
The <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">4.2%</a> increase was in line with expectations, with analysts predicting a 0.4 percentage-point increase from April&#8217;s 3.8% annual rate. The inflation increase was driven primarily by higher energy costs as oil prices surged amid tensions in the Middle East. The inflation report showed energy prices accounted for more than 60% of the monthly increase in the Consumer Price Index, with gasoline prices rising sharply, up <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">8.6%</a> before seasonal adjustment. Shelter costs also continued to climb, rising 0.3% during the month, while food prices increased 0.2%. 
&#8220;It&#8217;s not a good number,&#8221; former Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/06/10/former-dallas-fed-pres-fisher-on-may-cpi-expect-continued-pressure-on-the-fixed-income-market.html">told</a> CNBC. &#8220;I think the consumer is under tremendous pressure, and we&#8217;re just going to have to see if this is going to abate.&#8221; 
Fisher added that if he were Fed chair, he would leave interest rates unchanged for now to allow more time to assess the economy.
Stocks, which are edging lower on the data, started the day with a downward trend after President Donald Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116725476229257491">blasted</a> Iran for taking &#8220;too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them.&#8221; 
&#8220;Now they will have to pay the price!!!&#8221; Trump added. 
After Trump&#8217;s message, Brent crude oil futures jumped to around <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-cpi-inflation-06-10-2026/card/trump-post-on-iran-accelerates-stock-sell-off-sends-oil-higher-HJ2tHQj71YFjmz2EFMxF">$93</a> per barrel. Higher energy prices have become the Trump administration’s Achilles&#8217; heel for inflation. Higher energy prices have become a persistent challenge for the Trump administration&#8217;s efforts to bring inflation lower. After nearly a month of conflict with Iran, the energy index rose 3.9% in May, up from a 3.8% increase in April.
The latest data continues a trend of steadily rising inflation since February. While Federal Reserve policymakers have signaled patience in recent months, the continued acceleration in prices could complicate the central bank&#8217;s path forward. Investors who had hoped for interest rate cuts later this year are now debating whether officials will instead keep rates elevated for longer, or consider additional rate hikes if inflation remains stubbornly high.

Grocery Store

Inflation Passes Unfavorable Mark For First Time Since 2023

Donald Trump

Iran

Trump Administration

The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation rose in April to an annual rate of <a href="https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/personal-income-and-outlays-april-2026">3.8%</a>, according to a report from the Commerce Department published on Thursday. 
For the past three months, inflation has risen from 2.8% in February to 3.5% in March, and up to 3.8% in April. 
Part of the Federal Reserve’s mandate is to keep Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation, or PCE inflation, at 2%, meaning April’s reading is nearly two points over target and will likely delay the central bank’s ability to cut rates. Bad PCE data typically leads to the Fed keeping interest rates high, which means it can become more expensive to buy a house, finance a car, or take out a personal loan. Businesses also face higher borrowing costs, causing them to raise the prices that consumers pay for goods and services.
&#8220;With headline inflation closer to 4% than 3%, the Fed continues to walk a tight rope. When adjusted for inflation, spending barely rose in this report,&#8221; <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/april-2026-pce-inflation?%3Fintcmp=tw_fbn&amp;taid=6a183c5a86566d0001e05e21&amp;utm_campaign=trueanthem&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter">said</a> Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. &#8220;Rising prices are really taking a bite out of consumption, and the decline in the savings rate shows consumers are dipping into savings to make ends meet.&#8221;
The personal savings rate dropped to 2.6% after reaching 3.6% in March. 
Core PCE, which excludes food and energy prices, rose to 3.3%. The Fed closely watches core PCE because removing more volatile food and energy categories provides a clearer picture of underlying inflation trends. Core PCE is now at its highest level since the end of 2023.
Despite elevated inflation, PIMCO economist Tiffany Wilding believes headline inflation could fall significantly if tensions in the Middle East ease. 
“Inflation right now &#8230; looks like a temporary phenomenon. &#8230; History suggests that over time oil prices do mean revert and if you get any sort of decline, any mean reversion, or any sort of deal or moderation in tensions in the Middle East in the back half of this year, you could very well see headline inflation then declining &#8230; even possibly below 2% next year on the year over year basis,” Wilding <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/05/28/inflationary-pressures-outside-of-the-energy-price-surge-look-manageable-pimcos-tiffany-wilding.html">said</a>. 
Both CPI and PCE inflation reports have remained above the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target for the past five years. The inflation report will make it difficult for the central bank to cut interest rates next month, especially when coupled with Thursday’s downward revision of first-quarter GDP growth from <a href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/q1-gross-domestic-product-revision-e1a6ff93">2%</a> to 1.6% on Thursday. 
Many economists had <a href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/q1-gross-domestic-product-revision-e1a6ff93">expected</a> Q1 GDP to stay at 2%. The report from the Commerce Department said the downward GDP revision was due partly to a lower estimate for inventory investment and lower consumer spending.

The Fed’s Favorite Inflation Reading Spells Bad News For Interest Rate Cuts

The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as chairman of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday in a 54-45 vote. Warsh will officially take over the position on Friday after Jerome Powell&#8217;s term as Fed chair concludes. 
The confirmation comes after Powell has faced months of pressure from President Donald Trump, as Powell has been hesitant to lower interest rates. Democratic Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman was the only senator to cross party lines and vote for President Trump’s pick to lead the central bank.
While Warsh takes over as Fed chair, Powell will remain on the board as a governor. Powell&#8217;s term as Fed governor continues until 2028. 
Warsh&#8217;s confirmation didn&#8217;t come easy. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) blocked Warsh&#8217;s path through the Senate Banking Committee for months, refusing to move any Fed nominees while the Department of Justice was criminally investigating Powell over the $2.5 billion renovation of the Federal Reserve building. The DOJ ultimately dropped the investigation, causing Tillis to drop his hold. 
Warsh takes the helm of the central bank after previously serving as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, an appointment made by President George W. Bush. He became the youngest Fed governor in history at 35 and became well known as an inflation hawk. 
&#8220;We have the largest, most robust economy in the world. We have the deepest, most liquid financial markets. And the dollar is the world’s reserve currency, bestowing key advantages upon us. But, none of this is our birthright. It must be earned, and re-earned,&#8221; Warsh <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/kevin20100628a.htm">said</a> in a 2010 speech. 
Warsh left the Fed in 2011 to join UPS&#8217;s board and take positions at the Hoover Institution and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Warsh inherits a Federal Reserve being pulled in multiple directions. President Trump continues to call for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, but inflation is still on the rise amid tensions with Iran. After April’s hotter-than-expected inflation report, chances of a rate cut in 2026 declined.
Warsh criticized the central bank’s hesitancy to cut rates, but many people still view him as a hawk on inflation. In December, the chief economist of Deutsche Bank <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/interest-rate-changes-could-be-on-the-way-under-kevin-warsh-trump-s-pick-for-fed-chair-11895919">said</a> that “although Warsh has argued for lower rates recently, we do not view him as structurally dovish.”
Warsh told Congress he plans on shrinking the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, which holds more than $6 trillion in U.S. government bonds and mortgage-backed securities. Warsh argues that trimming the balance sheet will give the Fed room to lower interest rates.
He also plans to keep the Fed focused on its core mandate of maximizing employment and keeping inflation at 2%. Warsh says the central bank has drifted from that core mission and believes that decisions on which assets the central bank buys are better left to the Treasury Department.

Day Five Of The Spring Meetings Of The International Monetary Fund And World Bank

Senate Confirms Kevin Warsh As Fed Chair In Big Win For Trump

Federal Reserve

Interest Rates

Jerome Powell

Kevin Warsh

Inflation reached its highest rate under President Donald Trump&#8217;s second term, ticking up 0.6% in April, for a one-year pace of 3.8%, according to <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">data</a> released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 
The 3.8% annualized rate is the highest inflation mark since May of 2023, when it came in at 4% and was on its way down from a 40-year high under former President Joe Biden. Experts expected April&#8217;s inflation report to come in at 3.7%.  
Energy costs rose 3.8% in April, accounting for 40% of the monthly increase and pushing the 12-month gain to 17.9%. That marked a cooldown from March, when energy prices jumped 10.9% — the largest monthly gain since 2005. Shelter (0.6%) and food (0.5%) also posted notable increases.
Inflation in April outpaced the month&#8217;s wage gains by 0.2%. United States equities fell by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/11/stock-market-today-live-updates.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.PostToTwitter">0.7%</a> after the inflation report was released. The Nasdaq also dropped 1.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.6%. 
“It isn’t like it’s an avalanche, but it’s a steady move upward,” Thomas Martin, the senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments, told <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/11/stock-market-today-live-updates.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.PostToTwitter">CNBC</a>.
Rising prices have hit Americans the hardest at the pump in recent months as the national average price for gas has ticked up to $4.50 per gallon. 
The White House appeared to respond to the inflation report by sharing a chart showing goods and services that have fallen over the last year. Oil was notably not on the list. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/WPYOsC3sUb">pic.twitter.com/WPYOsC3sUb</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2054189194096894295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2026</a></blockquote>
White House spokesman Kush Desai told The New York Times that the administration “remains laser-focused on delivering growth and affordability on the home front while working to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat.” Data shows the price uptick is driven by higher energy prices due to the war with Iran. 
The Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for roughly one-fifth of the world&#8217;s oil supply, remains closed. On Monday, President Trump said that a proposed deal to end the conflict with Iran is on “life-support.”
Following April&#8217;s inflation report, the Polymarket odds of a Fed rate hike before 2027 jumped nearly 10 points to 31% — just as Kevin Warsh prepares to take the reins from Fed chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday.

Gas Prices

Inflation Rises To Highest Level In Three Years

Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright said the solution to shrinking portion sizes is simple: just ask for more.
The exec addressed the issue during an appearance this week on Yahoo! Finance. Customers have been complaining for months that fast food burgers are smaller, pre-packaged snacks have less food, and burritos from Chipotle aren&#8217;t as stuffed as they used to be. 
“If you want more, you should ask for a little more,” the fast food exec said. “I promise you, there&#8217;s never a team member on that line that is going to say no to you.”
“We will continue to put heaping spoonfuls of food in bowls and burritos,” Boatwright continued, adding that the company is focused on both portions and food quality. 
“It has always been our brand ethos, and it is still to this day,” he insisted. “We serve big, beautiful bowls and burritos. No questions asked.”
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The CEO further pushed back on claims that Chipotle employees were “skimping” on portion sizes.
“I tell my team all the time, ‘put as much food in that bowl and burrito as you possibly can,'&#8221; he told Yahoo! Finance. “‘I want the consumer to tell you, &#8216;it&#8217;s too big.'&#8221;
“We&#8217;re about abundance, we&#8217;re about value,” he went on. “Value equals benefit over price.” The exec also claimed to be “absorbing” the cost of inflation rather than passing it on to customers. He told the outlet that Chipotle is pleased to offer “an affordable price point for all walks of life, and we&#8217;re for everyone. We want everyone to have access to wholesome, nutritious food.”
Commenters were skeptical that restaurant workers would be willing to increase portion sizes without charging them extra. 
“Save this video [for] every time you walk in,” one commenter wrote.
“He said if you want more, they will give you more, but will also charge you more,” another comment said.
“Bro … have you been to Chipotle,” a third person chimed in.
“Straight lies they will 100% charge you double each time you say more,” yet another commenter agreed.
Others brought up the common complaint that delivery portions are rumored to be much smaller than those being served inside the restaurants, a problem that wouldn’t be solved by Boatwright’s suggestion to &#8220;ask for more.&#8221;

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Inflation ticked up to 3.3% in March, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 
The March Consumer Price Index report is the first to reflect the impact of the conflict with Iran. While the 3.3% reading was in line with expectations, inflation had been at 2.4% and on a downward trend prior to the U.S. strikes.
Energy prices saw the largest increase, rising 10.9%, the biggest monthly jump since 2005. Gas prices are now above <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">$4</a> a gallon, while diesel is just over <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">$5</a>. Food prices, however, remained stable despite disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply flows. Rising energy costs are a key driver of inflation, as they affect the price of goods and services across the economy.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the administration expected inflationary pressures tied to Operation Epic Fury. 
“President Trump has always been clear about short-term disruptions as a result of Operation Epic Fury, disruptions that the Administration has been diligently working to mitigate,” he <a href="https://x.com/KushDesai47/status/2042589657506922706">said</a>. “Although gas and energy prices are seeing volatility, prices of eggs, beef, prescription drugs, dairy, and other household essentials are falling or remain stable thanks to President Trump’s policies.” 
Desai added that the administration is working to ensure the free flow of energy through the Strait of Hormuz and that the economy can handle the disruption due to its “supply-side agenda of tax cuts, deregulation, and energy abundance.”
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who served under the Biden administration, told CNBC that the Trump administration&#8217;s policies are contributing to rising prices.
“As feared, inflation is up,” he said, adding that the administration is actively making prices higher through tariffs and the war.
Inflation peaked at 9.1% under the Biden administration. March’s reading is the highest level of inflation under the Trump administration.

Satellite Imagery Of The Strait Of Hormuz

Inflation Report Shows Iran War Impact As A Key Piece Tells The Story

Operation Epic Fury

Inflation held steady at <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">2.4%</a> in February, according to new data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 
While inflation remains above the Federal Reserve&#8217;s 2% target, it is significantly lower than levels seen during the height of the post-pandemic surge.
Energy prices rose <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">0.6%</a> in February after falling <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">1.5%</a> in January, driven by higher gasoline and natural gas prices, while electricity declined. Because the United States entered the conflict with Iran on the final day of February, the recent surge in oil prices is not reflected in the latest inflation data. Oil was trading around $70 per barrel before the conflict and is now in the mid-$80 range.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, remains relatively stable, reinforcing the broader trend of moderating price growth.
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Inflation under Joe Biden reached 9.1%, the highest in half a century.
Under President Trump, inflation is down and holding steady! <a href="https://t.co/NzbKAxFmt6">pic.twitter.com/NzbKAxFmt6</a>
— GOP (@GOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOP/status/2031726335274492371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Inflation peaked at 9.1% in 2022 during the Biden administration before gradually cooling the past two years.
Earlier this week, oil briefly spiked to around $120 per barrel — its highest level since 2022 — before retreating after President Donald Trump said “the war is very complete” and signaled he was considering U.S. control of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly one-fifth of global oil supply. 
Food prices rose <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">0.4%,</a> and shelter increased <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">0.2%</a>. Gains were driven largely by higher prices for candy, fruit, and vegetables. Notably, egg prices, often cited as a grocery barometer, have fallen 42.1% over the past year. 
Stocks and bonds reacted modestly, with futures largely flat. Many financial analysts are now looking to the March Consumer Price Index report for a clearer picture of how geopolitical tensions might influence prices. 
New York Fed President John Williams said the Iran conflict could affect near-term inflation but that its lasting impact will depend on how long it persists. “Something that would obviously affect kind of a nearer-term inflation outlook. We&#8217;ll have to see how persistent this is and how long this is, but it would have an effect on overall inflation.&#8221;

Inflation Held Steady Before Iran Operation Fueled Energy Prices

U.S.

Battered by COVID-era inflation, many Americans are understandably concerned about the impact of another war on their finances – but data suggests American bank accounts won&#8217;t become casualties.  
Energy affects the price of everything, and missiles are flying in a region that produces a third of global oil exports. If supply is constrained, prices will increase, but the current global supply is better positioned than in the past. 
Global inventories are currently around 6.5 billion barrels of oil, the highest level this decade. The world consumes only 1.57% of that total each day. Middle Eastern oil production is at one of its low points. During the 1970s energy crisis, the region produced about 55% of the world’s oil. Today, the share is 35%.
In <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/data-insights/the-united-states-is-the-worlds-largest-oil-producer">2018</a>, the United States became the world’s largest oil producer, dethroning Russia and Saudi Arabia thanks to the shale revolution of the late 2000s. The revolution was driven by a technological advancement that combined fracking and horizontal drilling, allowing the US to unlock oil that was previously unreachable. 
The Daily Wire reviewed data from a leading Wall Street bank that concluded the high inventory and increased oil production from the United States would help offset costs from elevated oil prices. In an analysis of 21 previous air strikes in the region, the bank found that there was typically an initial spike in oil prices that subsided over the following two months. 
So far, markets are tracking that historical pattern. This month, Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) are up roughly <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BZ=F/">15%</a> in the days following Saturday’s strikes. The bank concluded a sustained increase in oil prices would raise headline inflation by 0.2%, a drop in the bucket compared to what consumers experienced from 2022 to 2024. 
The bank also predicts that GDP growth will drop by less than a tenth of a percent for the year. Experts attribute the Fall government shutdown to a 0.06 to 0.12 percentage-point loss in GDP. 
Beyond oil, the bank&#8217;s data also showed promising expectations for the broader market. After eight weeks, gold, the U.S. dollar, and 10-year Treasury bonds posted gains in most instances, and U.S. equities were higher in 20 of the 21 cases. Despite initial declines from the strikes, US large-cap equities are still hovering around all-time highs with earnings beating analyst expectations for the fourth quarter by 6% and high expectations for 2026.  
Even JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon, Wall Street&#8217;s designated worrier, is expressing calm: “The economy is not often driven by something like that unless it is prolonged.” 
What Dimon did warn about back in 2022, however, was cumulative inflation. &#8220;Inflation is eroding everything I just said,” <a href="http://said">said </a>Dimon. “When you’re looking out forward, those things may very well derail the economy and cause a mild or hard recession that people worry about.”
A sustained conflict could alter the outlook, though. A fifth of global oil and LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and analysts predict triple-digit oil prices if Gulf production halts. Trump has floated the idea of using the US Navy to accompany ships traveling through the strait to mitigate that risk.
Dr. Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow at the free-market think tank Pacific Research Institute, echoed a measured view in comments to The Daily Wire.
&#8220;If prices stay around $80 a barrel and supplies don&#8217;t get more constrained, over the next two months it could be painful but it would not be a barnburner. However, the severe effect would be prices going up to $90 a barrel and they stay there for a year.&#8221;
Winegarden explained that a significant loss of Gulf production would force more countries back into the global market for supply, driving prices higher. However, he added that higher prices would also incentivize producers elsewhere to ramp up output, increasing supply over time and helping stabilize the market.

Should Your Wallet Panic Over The Iran War? What History Shows

Energy

New federal data released Friday showed inflation slowing and wages rising in January, trends the Trump administration says signal improving affordability.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices rose 2.4% last month, below the 2.5% forecast. Markets rose following the news.
Average hourly earnings rose <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf">3.7%</a> over the past year, outpacing inflation and reflecting real wage growth. Private-sector employers added more than 170,000 jobs in January.
“We saw real wage growth in 2025,&#8221; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. &#8220;It could be very strong in 2026, and I think the American people are going to start feeling it.”
The White House said the data reflect the success of President Donald Trump&#8217;s economic policies.
“President Trump has defeated Joe Biden’s inflation crisis in record time,&#8221; said White House Spokesperson Taylor Rogers. &#8220;Inflation is low, wages are up, and the American economy is booming — all thanks to President Trump’s pro-growth agenda. President Trump is working hard to Make America Affordable Again — just like he promised.” 
&#8220;Real wages are up $1,400 in 2025 — nearly half of Biden era real wage decline made up for in just one year thanks to President Trump,&#8221; said White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai. &#8220;This is just the beginning: President Trump&#8217;s MFN drug pricing deals, tax cuts, trade deals, and deregulation are just starting to take effect.&#8221;
When President Joe Biden took office in 2021, annual inflation was running at 1.9%. During his term, inflation averaged 4.9% and peaked at 9.1% in 2022. Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan in 2021, which included $1,400 direct payments to Americans.
“Joe Biden crashed the economy,” Bessent said. “The policies were a disaster for the American people.” 
Bessent argued that the Biden administration boosted demand through increased government spending while constraining supply with tighter regulations, driving up inflation. 
The January data marks the latest sign that inflationary pressures may be easing as the administration pushes its affordability agenda.

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