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Javona Brownlee knows a thing or two about struggling to get by in today’s America. Currently living in a homeless shelter in Virginia with her three young children, the 31-year-old single parent has been repeatedly caught in the headwinds of an unprecedented housing crisis coupled with unaffordable childcare topped off by a high cost of living.
“Sometimes it feels like a trap,” she explains of the cycle of poverty and housing problems that prevents her from putting “strong foundations” beneath her family’s feet.
“I’ve had decent jobs – I’ve worked in banks, in credit unions – but lots of times I couldn’t afford to pay for housing as well as all the other bills.”
Securing a good credit rating – essential for obtaining rental accommodation – has been beyond Brownlee’s reach due to her precarious circumstances, compounding the family’s financial and housing insecurity. “I have overcome a lot,” she says, “But it’s a crazy cycle. And housing is a major issue.”
As the election approaches, Brownlee is fearful that a victory for Republicans and Donald Trump would see policies such as rolling back social programmes, including Medicaid, become reality, making the lives of people like her even harder.
I’m afraid. I’m scared. The rug is already half pulled out from under me
Javona Brownlee, mother-of-three
Brownlee’s struggles are far from atypical. Despite the surge in federal public investment under the Biden administration ranging from clean energy to child care, alongside a booming economy, tens of millions of Americans face economic hardship and serious challenges finding and affording housing.
Just under 40 million currently live below the poverty line, and 47% live with food insecurity. In September, the US Census Bureau reported that while household incomes adjusted for inflation rose in 2023 – up by 4% from 2022 – it barely dented the overall level of poverty.
Even with higher than expected economic growth in 2023 and the recent easing of record-high levels of inflation that disproportionately impacted lower income households, plus 16 million new jobs created since Biden took office (outstripping any previous four-year presidential term), millions are struggling.
Low-income households, which tend to spend a much higher proportion of their income on basic essentials such as groceries and utilities, continue to reel from skyrocketing food prices despite downward inflation.
Food costs are much higher than when Joe Biden entered the White House. Between February 2020 when the pandemic hit and July 2024, grocery prices surged by 25.6% hitting the poorest hardest.
Accusations of corporate price-gouging keeping the cost of basics artificially high have further stoked woes, prompting a pledge from Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris to crackdown on the practice on day one if elected.
A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that the economy is by far the most important issue for voters. Four out of five (81%) in Pew’s September survey cited it as “very important” in the vote for President. However, with days left before the election, persuading some voters that the economy can work for everyone remains an uphill task.
Democratic Party attempts to highlight the Biden-Harris administration’s economic and legislative successes – vital if Harris’s presidential campaign is to win over crucial independent voters – is made all the more tough when a sizeable number of people don’t recognise what the administration’s flagship policies have achieved.
Many Americans are not objectively better off – or don’t feel better off – than they were before the pandemic. One poll from Gallup published three weeks before election day, found that more than half of Americans (52%) say they feel worse off than four years ago. As with many aspects of the 2024 election, it’s an indication