Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

Episode 72: America’s Affordability Crisis and How MAGA is Making it Worse

Date: February 17, 2026
Host: Stacey Abrams
Notable Guests: Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Talmon Smith (New York Times economic reporter)

Episode Overview

In this powerful episode of Assembly Required, Stacey Abrams tackles America’s worsening affordability crisis and how MAGA Republican (Trump-centric) policies are exacerbating economic pain for millions. Through in-depth conversations with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and economic reporter Talmon Smith, Abrams explores how policy failures—particularly those engineered or enabled by the current Republican administration—fuel both personal and systemic hardship. The episode connects themes of economic justice, democracy, and collective resistance, offering listeners both sobering analysis and actionable steps.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

I. Setting the Context – Weaponizing Mindsets (02:24-07:52)

• Abrams reflects on a discussion with Nat Kendall-Taylor about three damaging mindsets dominating American politics and society:
  • Individualism – Problems blamed on personal choices, ignoring broader systems.
  • Fatalism – Believing nothing can change, entrenching despair.
  • Otherism – Dividing resources through “us vs. them” thinking.

“They want us to be so convinced that we are alone and losing...to believe that the other is at fault for what we face. But I’m here to tell you, from Minneapolis to Memphis, from Charlotte to Chicago, we are watching Americans make a very different choice.”
—Stacey Abrams (06:08)

• Highlights Republican policy attacks: funding ICE over health care, gutting the Dept. of Education, erasing LGBTQ symbols, fomenting division.
• Stresses the importance of rejecting all three mindsets and embracing collective action.

II. The Epstein Files as a Microcosm of State Failures: Interview with Rep. Pramila Jayapal

(14:47-23:59)

A. DOJ’s Mishandling of Survivor Information

• Jayapal recounts challenging AG Pam Bondi for failing to redact Epstein survivors’ identities while protecting predators.

“Personal information, contact information, address, phone number, and even nude photos in some cases were all released. And it was clearly not a mistake because one person was redacted and the other 31 were not.”
—Pramila Jayapal (16:52)

• Bondi refused to apologize; survivors remain retraumatized.

B. Systemic Implications

• The Epstein files illustrate a larger pattern: an administration weaponizing federal agencies (DOJ, DHS, ICE, CBP) for political retribution, not justice or public service.
• Congressional checks and balances have broken down—GOP legislators refuse to hold Trump accountable, undermining the Constitution and public protection.

III. Affordability Crisis Detailed

A. Congressional Role in Addressing (or Harming) the Economy (23:59-29:51)

• Abrams cites Pew Research: majority of Americans (52%) believe Trump’s economic policies worsen their lives.
• Jayapal explains Congress’s Article I power and how GOP lawmakers abdicate oversight in favor of Trump, e.g. enabling cuts to Medicaid, blocking ACA tax credits, refusing disaster and research funds.
• Courts as a check are also weakened by politicization and corruption scandals.

“What we’re seeing is that these Republicans in Congress are refusing to stand up and fight back against anything that Donald Trump is doing. They really are a cult party, and they’re following their cult leader blindly off the cliff, even if it means it’s not good for their constituents.”
—Jayapal (25:52)

• Civic resistance and grassroots action are the last—sometimes only—barrier to authoritarian rule.

B. Housing, Childcare, and Cost of Living (29:51-48:57)

• Gen Z/Millennials: home buying out of reach—average first-time buyer age now 40.
• Current legislative efforts (bipartisan House housing bill) are stopgaps—true relief will take massive investment.
• The Child Care for Every Community Act would cap costs at 7% of family income—progress blocked by Senate opposition.
• Universal programs (housing, childcare, health care) are both morally and economically essential.

“If you look at housing...we need affordable rental units, we need more public housing, we need investments in those public housing buildings, and we need to actually build more housing across the board.”
—Jayapal (43:10)

• Poverty is a policy choice, compounded by wage stagnation and outmoded poverty lines. Social shame prevents needed reform.

• Abrams underscores the unique burdens on BIPOC and “genteel poor” families: supporting extended kin, not represented in official statistics.

C. Homework for Listeners [(48:57-52:42)]

• Recognize your power—vote, demand more from candidates, insist that they address inequality with universal solutions.
• Don’t accept incrementalism or defeatism.

“Hopelessness and powerlessness are tools of the oppressor... Demand more of the people you support. Tell them that you think that America, as the richest country in the world, should have a tax system that makes the wealthiest pay their fair share, that makes sure that people have universal childcare and universal housing and universal health care.”
—Jayapal (50:10)

IV. Explaining the Data: Interview with Talmon Smith (NYT)

(55:01-83:55)

A. What “Affordability” Means (55:01-56:21)

• Core test: Can households pay bills, save, and get ahead?

B. Disconnect Between Data and Lived Reality (56:21-73:47)

• Despite low official unemployment (4.3%), job growth nearly flat in 2025, with serious downward revisions.
• Unemployment rate masks discouraged workers, underemployment, and doesn’t reveal wage stagnation or inequity.
• Economic “growth” is confined to the top 20%—the rest see stagnation or backsliding.

“With all that being said, think about the top 20%. Okay, so now we’re talking about 68 million people. If 68 million people are still doing pretty well...that’s like having a little richistan within the broader economy.”
—Talmon Smith (66:28)

• 74% of Americans call the economy “only fair or poor” (Pew). Wealth data and consumer optimism do not match.

• Smith pushes back hard against pundits blaming people for their “bad moods”:

“I do get worked up seeing...commentariat taking a lot of what we’ve talked about and dismissing it, making the case that...people are essentially not being grateful enough for the good data... I think whether it’s from a political perspective or...trying to be an earnest investigator, we should assume that when the data...tells us things are fine but people are telling us they are not, that we should listen.”
(71:46)

C. Specific Policy Case: Tariffs (73:47-79:27)

• Trump’s tariffs have cost trillions, but about 70% of those costs land on consumers, the rest on businesses (CBO).
• Promised benefits—restarting manufacturing—haven’t materialized; small businesses/farmers have been especially hard-hit:

“It’s really this lose, lose, lose situation where tariffs have not, it seems so far, been great for economic growth...It’s been a loser, obviously, for small businesses... and then consumers. It’s pretty straightforward.”
—Talmon Smith (77:21)

D. Homework/Policy Solution

• Build more affordable housing, through market mechanisms, inclusionary zoning, and public investments—at all levels.

“We need to massively expand affordable housing, whether it’s through market rate housing or through inclusionary zoning...if we all say, ‘build it somewhere else,’ then it just never gets built.”
—Talmon Smith (80:26)

• Shout out to the Center for Public Enterprise for innovative housing policy work.

Notable & Memorable Quotes with Timestamps

• “The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it.” - Stacey Abrams invoking James Baldwin (13:34)
• “Poverty is a policy choice. It is a moral failure in my view as well, because this is not, you know, it benefits us to make sure that we don’t have people who can’t afford to live.” - Pramila Jayapal (41:31)
• “Hopelessness and powerlessness are tools of the oppressor.” - Rep. Jayapal (49:59)
• “If people had a ton of retirement savings and the housing market was great, and AI was not around the corner threatening to disemploy tons of white collar workers, then I’m positive people would be in a better mood. But they’re not. And they have reasons not [to] be in a better mood.” - Talmon Smith (72:25)

Actionable Homework & Tangible Next Steps

As emphasized throughout:

• Vote, and demand bold policies from your representatives.
• Support and call for universal childcare and affordable housing.
  • Ask representatives to back the Child Care for Every Community Act.
  • Advocate for zoning and policy changes to allow more housing construction.
• Volunteer or donate to organizations supporting affordable housing (Habitat for Humanity, local initiatives).
• Challenge the retreat to fatalism or accepting only incremental change.

Structured Episode Timeline

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|--------------| | 02:24–07:52 | Abrams on mindsets (individualism, fatalism, otherism) and current regime’s strategy | | 14:47–23:59 | Jayapal on Epstein files, DOJ failures, pattern of authoritarianism | | 23:59–34:35 | Congressional GOP complicity; housing costs, legislative attempts | | 34:35–48:57 | Childcare, homelessness, "genteel poverty," frameworks for policy and poverty | | 48:57–52:42 | Jayapal’s “homework”—demand more, assert voter power | | 55:01–83:55 | Talmon Smith: defining affordability, jobs data, who benefits, tariffs’ costs, actionable homework | | 83:55–End | Abrams’ final actions: call for collective action, highlight Habitat, urge volunteering/donations |

Tone and Language

The episode is forthright, urgent, deeply compassionate, and analytically rigorous. Abrams and her guests blend accessible explanations with moral clarity, always oriented toward action and hope.

For anyone who hasn’t listened:
This episode is a must for anyone seeking to truly understand why “affordability” is more than a buzzword and how economic hardship and autocracy now go hand in hand. You come away not just with knowledge, but with concrete steps to demand, advocate, and vote for a more just, inclusive future.