Inflation is often discussed in abstract terms — percentages, indexes, and economic forecasts. But for most Americans, it isn’t abstract at all. It shows up at the grocery store, where the same cart of essentials costs noticeably more each week, even as package sizes quietly shrink.
This isn’t about luxury items. It’s about milk, bread, eggs, produce, and basic household staples. Families are being asked to absorb higher costs not because of scarcity, but because of systemic decisions that prioritize power, profit, and political theater over economic stability.
What makes this moment particularly revolting is not just the price increases themselves, but the contrast between household strain and government behavior.
While Americans are calculating which items to put back on the shelf, Trump’s regime has continued to funnel taxpayer dollars into vanity projects — symbolic gestures, legal defenses, personal protection, and self-promotional initiatives that serve no public good. These expenditures are not investments in infrastructure, food security, or affordability. They are investments in ego.
Inflation is not inevitable in the way it is often portrayed. Policy choices matter. Regulatory rollbacks, tax structures favoring the wealthy, and the diversion of public funds away from social stability all contribute to the pressure now being felt at checkout counters across the country.
When leaders treat public money as a personal resource, the cost is passed down quietly and relentlessly. Not in headlines, but in receipts.
A government that cannot prioritize feeding its people over feeding its image has already failed a fundamental test of legitimacy.
And Americans know it — every time they pay for groceries.
Examples of Taxpayer Dollars on Controversial / Vanity Projects
• New East Wing “Ballroom” renovation — ~$300 million
Reports indicate the historic East Wing of the White House has been partially demolished to build an expansive ballroom — a project with a price tag that ballooned from roughly $200 million to about $300 million. Reddit
• Military parade & celebration events — $25 – $45 million (plus large future appropriations)
A large military parade and related Independence Day celebrations cost taxpayers an estimated $25 – $45 million, with additional federal funding set aside for expanded future commemorative events. Reason.com
• $500 million + estimated to paint and maintain the existing border wall
Plans reviewed by federal officials suggested it could cost upwards of $500 million just to paint parts of the U.S.–Mexico border wall — a project critics called a vanity expense. Reason.com
• Department of Homeland Security “ICE vehicles” and upgrades — $2.4 million (plus prior vehicle wraps / marketing)
DHS spent approximately $2.4 million on vehicle purchases and custom graphic wraps for immigration enforcement vehicles, on top of other multi-hundred-thousand-dollar vehicle enhancements. Reason.com