Steve Forbes doesn’t mince words: if the White House wants to actually bring relief to American families it must stop playing defense and unleash pro-growth policies that attack the root causes of high prices. Forbes has spent decades championing lower rates, simpler taxes and deregulation as the surest way to grow the economy and make everyday life more affordable for hardworking Americans.
At the core of Forbes’s prescription is bold tax reform — make the Trump-era tax relief permanent, simplify the code, and consider a low-rate, broad-base approach that eliminates distortions and rewards work and investment. He and other conservative economists have even floated a unified 15 percent framework as a shock to the system that would lower compliance costs and spur hiring and production. Those are not liberal fantasies; they’re pro-growth tools that have worked repeatedly when government gets out of the way.
Equally important is reining in the bureaucratic choke points that drive prices up: needless regulations, permission-slips, and government-favoring cartels. When entrepreneurs and manufacturers are buried in red tape and tariffs distort supply chains, consumers pay the tab at the grocery store and the pump. Recent evidence shows tariffs and trade disruptions translate into higher sticker prices for cars and other goods — the White House must stop policies that make everyday items more expensive.
Democrats have been eager to lecture voters about fairness while pushing policies that raise energy and housing costs, and the electorate notices. The recent wave of local and statewide races made it brutally clear that affordability is the number one issue on voters’ minds, and Republicans who fail to own that message will pay at the ballot box. If conservatives want to win in 2026, they must offer tangible, popular solutions — not abstractions — that lower costs now.
Practically speaking, the White House must make the TCJA-style tax relief permanent, cut targeted regulation that inflates prices, speed permitting for domestic energy and manufacturing projects, and use the bully pulpit to defend pro-growth reforms. Republicans in Congress are already debating big tax moves and the message must be simple: lower taxes, more production, and lower prices for families. If the party wants to translate governance into votes, it has to act with courage and clarity.
This isn’t a surrender to Washington orthodoxy — it’s a fight for the American worker. Conservatives should demand a real, measurable plan from the White House that slashes costs, not a parade of temporary gimmicks that leave voters back where they started. The choice is stark: pursue growth and affordability now, or hand Democrats an opening to sell a false populism that won’t lower bills.
Patriots who care about family budgets and the future of the country should press their representatives to adopt Forbes-style policies and hold leaders accountable if they don’t deliver. Americans are tired of Washington excuses; they want lower prices, safer streets, and a government that respects their liberty and labor. It’s time to turn economic common sense into policy and win the case for freedom and prosperity at the ballot box.
