民主党赢回国会：物价能降吗？

Tom Green is 29 and works as a software engineer in Ohio.

Seven months ago he lost that job, and he still hasn't found a new one.

He sent out 500 résumés, but interview opportunities have been few.

He says that at least from his perspective, the economy doesn't look very good.

In this midterm election he voted for the Democratic Party, and he isn't the only one who did so.

The Democrats won back control of both chambers of Congress.

What they promised voters was to make the economy affordable again.

But between winning the election and delivering on promises lies a long distance.

In the Senate, the Democrats took 54 seats.

In the House, they also flipped more than 20 seats from the Republicans.

In Ohio, Sherrod Brown won back a Senate seat for the Democrats.

In the same state, voters also elected Democrat Amy Acton as governor.

Green voted Democratic in both of these races.

Prices are indeed still rising — up 3.7 percent over the past year.

Through October, the average worker's wages rose 3.1 percent.

The money looks like more, but what it can buy is less.

Job growth is also slowing, and mortgage rates remain very high.

The Federal Reserve raised rates again in September, and the cost of borrowing climbed along with it.

The problem is that the tools in the Democrats' hands are actually quite limited.

The Senate has a rule that most bills need 60 votes to pass.

And they have only 54 votes — not enough for 60.

The president also holds the veto power, which can block bills passed by Congress.

In addition, the war in Iran and tariffs have pushed prices up, and Congress can't control these.

Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is helping shape the House's priority agenda.

She says one of the early goals is to restore the Medicaid cuts.

Another is to restore the Affordable Care Act subsidies.

She described it by saying Democrats will first push a 100-hour agenda.

But efforts to make life cheaper could also backfire and hurt the economy.

For example, restricting the construction of AI data centers could slow growth.

On the other hand, expanding benefits could push inflation higher and make the fiscal deficit larger.

The situation at the state level is similar, or even better.

In at least six states, the Democrats took both the governor's office and both chambers of the state legislature.

In Michigan, they promised tax cuts for people caring for the sick and elderly at home.

They also promised to set a higher starting salary for teachers.

The Democrats will formally take over Congress on January 3 next year.

They walk into Congress with these promises, and what comes next is whether they can deliver.