🧩 BND Motif Index · M229
In this economy?
Ordinary people can't keep up with the price of gas, groceries and rent, and say so with a bitter laugh.
- 13claims filed under it
- 1left show it came up on
- 3right shows it came up on
- 5claims retold online
- 1fact-checker
⚠️ A story people tell, not a claim that it's true.
A motif is the shape of a story as its tellers tell it, named the way a folklorist names a tale type, so the same story told about other people, by the other side or in another year lands in the same place. Some of the claims below are true, many are false. Arguing against a story is often a story of its own, its answer (Voter fraud is answered by Voter suppression, Lawfare by No one is above the law), and we file it there; where no answer has a motif yet, the arguments against a story sit with its tellings.
🪜 Its family
what it rests on, what rests on it, and the motifs that answer it
🪜 rests on 🧩 It's the economy, stupid
⤵️ under it: 🧩 Tariffs hurt consumers 🧩 Pain at the pump 🧩 The war hits your wallet
↔️ answers and mirrors:
- 🧩 Morning in America Morning in America answers In this economy?
⏱️ both first told the same day (2026-10-03)
🔗 goes with: 🧩 Affordability crisis 🧩 Class conflict 🧩 Data center panic 🧩 Economic nostalgia 🧩 Inflation 🧩 Let them eat cake 🧩 The buck stops here
🎙️ Who it came up with
the shows we follow where its claims came up, by the show's lean
🫏 left 1
⚖️ center 0
🦗 none of our center shows, so far
"Came up on" means one of its claims was heard on the show: told, reported or argued against. We don't yet mark which. Show leans are our own grouping of the shows we transcribe.
📰 In the news
the stories its claims were told about, the most told first (matched by our tools, so a link can be wrong)
- 📰 Ken Paxton discusses Iran war and gas prices in latest leaked audio 2026-10-07 to 2026-10-08
🧶 Its claims
what's been told in this shape, newest first, in our words, with where each was heard
- 2026-10-26 “Halloween candy is expensive this year, so I'll be handing out non-candy items instead.” 🧶 people online
- 2026-10-14 “Americans are back on a hamster wheel of prices rising faster than earnings due to recent global disruptions.”
🎙️ Clay Travis & Buck Sexton - 2026-10-09 “The UK government is using Google Maps to show fuel prices as a solution to rising fuel costs.” 🧶 people online
- 2026-10-08 “Ken Paxton's Senate campaign is being negatively impacted by the Iran war and high gas prices, as he admitted in private meetings with donors and lobbyists.” 🧶 people online
- 2026-10-06 “People are currently suffering due to high prices for gas, energy, and groceries.”
🎙️ The MeidasTouch Podcast 🎙️ Timcast IRL (podcast) - 2026-10-06 “The current economy is miserable due to high prices for fuel and goods.”
🎙️ The MeidasTouch Podcast 🎙️ Timcast IRL (podcast) - 2026-10-06 “The average American voter is more concerned with the cost of gas and groceries than with geopolitical conflicts like the war in Iran.”
🎙️ PBD Podcast (podcast) 🎙️ Clay Travis & Buck Sexton - 2026-10-05 “Latino voters are increasingly disapproving of Trump and the Republicans due to economic concerns and immigration policies.” 🧶 people online
- 2026-10-05 “Fake Sam's Club receipts from 1983 and 2026 show a huge price difference for bread, milk, and eggs.” 🔎 Lead Stories
- 2026-10-05 “Americans are increasingly blaming Donald Trump for the high cost of living and poor economic performance.” 🧶 people online
- 2026-10-03 “The voter is not making minimum wage when using DoorDash due to high gas prices.” 🗳️ voters in The Focus Group
- 2026-10-03 “People are talking about prices and the war in every focus group, regardless of political party.” 🗳️ voters in The Focus Group
- 2026-10-03 “A war in Iran has raised the cost of living for people who were already struggling financially.” 🗳️ voters in The Focus Group
M229 · first seen 2026-10-05 · last 2026-10-26 · what this is · how the index works