There's an all-important question hovering over Democrats' sweeping midterm election victories: what can they actually do to address the affordability crisis that caused Americans to turn on the GOP?
According to Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's Analytics, the options are few, but Democrats do have tools they can use to ease some of the forces putting upward pressure on prices when they get into power in Washington next year.
"The new Congress has some levers," he wrote in an X post on Sunday. "Expect Democrats to use hearings, oversight, and a war powers resolution vote to build pressure to end the war in Iran, which we estimate has cost the typical household $2,200 so far."
First, Zandi flagged the cost of the Iran war on US households throughout this year as the war has dragged on. The figure has steadily risen as oil prices have crept up, pushing up costs for US households and businesses.
After last week's election, Zandi sees the possibility that war ends soon. though he acknowledged that most of the necessary legislative changes would require Donald Trump to be on board.
The second way for Democrats to address affordability is largely dependent on what the current C...