Americans can't afford gas or groceries because of tariffs and an Iran war. The solution, according to this headline, is three products.
Not policy changes. Not wage increases. Not ending a f*cking war. Three products.
The affordability crunch gets intensified by geopolitical conflict and trade policy, and somewhere in a newsroom a writer typed the words "these 3 products can help" without their hands catching fire. They identified tariffs as the problem. They acknowledged gas prices tied to the Iran war as the problem. Then they pivoted to a listicle like they were curing hiccups.
What are the three products? Doesn't matter. Could be a budgeting app. Could be a cash-back credit card that earns you 2% while inflation runs 8%. Could be a subscription service that saves you money by charging you monthly. The genre is always the same. Retail traders see "affordability crunch" and think the next sentence will contain actionable information instead of sponsored content wearing a journalist costume.
This is what happens when financial media runs out of things to say but still has a content quota. Tariffs exist. War exists. Prices go up. The logical response is not to analyze those forces or explain who benefits. The logical response is to recommend products. Because nothing says "we take your financial hardship seriously" like suggesting you shop your way out of macroeconomic catastrophe.
Somewhere right now a guy who can't afford his mortgage is clicking this article and expecting answers, and what he'll get is three affiliate links and the reminder that his suffering has a SKU.
Photo by Rock Staar on Unsplash
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