SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Polls close today in the midterm elections, and one of the most important issues for voters this year has been the cost of living. Wages are still not keeping up with rising prices, and for many Americans, it has gotten even harder to make ends meet. To better understand how voters are thinking about inflation, we are checking back in with three people from around the country who we've been talking to throughout the year. We're joined by Alex Garcia, who runs a bar in Seattle, Washington. Hey, Alex.
ALEX GARCIA: Hey, Scott.
DETROW: And Heather Becker, who is in the trucking business and based in Dilworth, Minnesota. Hey.
HEATHER BECKER: Hey. Hi, Scott.
DETROW: And also Chuck Lockhart, a retired veteran in Whitefield, New Hampshire. Hey, Chuck.
CHUCK LOCKHART: Hey. How are you doing?
DETROW: Good to be with all three of you. Let's start with this. We last talked in July. Has your economic situation gotten better or worse or about the same? Alex, I'll start with you.
GARCIA: I would definitely say it's gotten worse. Like, nothing's gone down. If anything, it just goes up, like, the cost of gas and everything. So if I was struggling before, I'm definitely struggling more now.
DETROW: What about you, Heather?
BECKER: Definitely worse - being in the trucking industry, the fuel prices - rising fuel prices - thank goodness for the Mudflap app that helps you save a little money. But it's eating up about 25% of what the truck brings home a week. That's a lot.
DETROW: What was that percentage at, like, the beginning of the year?
BECKER: I know last year, I think the percentage was, like, maybe - it runs, like, 18-, 16%, somewhere around there. So it's definitely a big - from last year, yep.
DETROW: So that's a big difference. How about you, Chuck? How are things compared to July?
LOCKHART: It's a mixed bag. I mean, I sold my house, and I moved. So I have some resources that I didn't have before. But overall, the price at the pump is just killing everybody. The country runs on diesel. I mean, if it isn't moved by a truck, it's moved by a train, and they both burn diesel. So if the price of diesel stays high, there's no way you're going to drive down inflation.
DETROW: See, Heather? Chuck says that you guys are the backbone of the economy.
BECKER: (Laughter) Yep, yep.
DETROW: Heather, Alex, do either of you feel like any part of the economy is good from your perspective, or is it all just kind of a cascade of negative news?
GARCIA: Well, I own a bar, so, like, I just see it every day. It's like, more and more of our customers keep losing their jobs, or they're scared to lose their jobs, or, like, a coworker lost a job. I have not seen anything that, like, makes it better right now or, like, where people are getting jobs. All I hear about all day long at the bar is just that, you know, times are tough. And so it's - yeah, I just haven't seen anything positive yet.
DETROW: Yeah. And, Heather, I assume the high price of diesel's the be-all end-all of - as far as you're concerned.
BECKER: Exactly. Yep. Yeah.
DETROW: Yeah.
BECKER: And yeah, I mean, house sales, I think it was Chuck that said he sold his house. Well, he's lucky. We've had our house on the market last year and this year, and it hasn't moved. You know, it's - nobody's buying anything.
DETROW: Yeah.
BECKER: Everybody's renting.
DETROW: It's true. You know, it took my parents more than six months to even get an offer on their house this year.
BECKER: Oh, yeah.
DETROW: Yeah. I'll say to the three of you that when we've talked to you before, we've kind of purposely made the conversation about the economy and stayed away from the election of it, just to better understand. But it is Election Day. And I'm wondering, first of all, did all of you vote? Did any of you not vote?
LOCKHART: Yeah, I voted.
GARCIA: I'm voting today.
DETROW: OK.
BECKER: Yep, I voted. And my husband who drives truck did an absentee ballot.
DETROW: How much were you thinking about the economy as you decided which candidates to support?
LOCKHART: One hundred percent.
BECKER: Definitely, 100%.
DETROW: Yeah.
BECKER: My daughter is 36, and she never voted. And she's like, Mom, I have to vote 'cause we can't live like this.
DETROW: Yeah. I guess - and, Alex, I can start with you, and we can go around - what are your hopes for the election? Like, do you think - let's say Democrats do regain control of Congress. Do you think any sort of change being put in place by this election could affect the economy?
GARCIA: I would say 100% it could. The downside is I just think sometimes I'm so disillusioned that I don't want to make the mistake of being too excited for change 'cause it's just - it's sad when it doesn't happen. So it's really hard to try to be optimistic because I feel like I've had so many election years where you really think, oh, this is going to change. This is going to get better. And then it doesn't get better. But I care, right? I really would love to see things get better and get some kind of relief. So yes, I'm hoping, but I'm trying not to get too excited.
DETROW: Chuck, what do you think? What are your realistic hopes or non-hopes for actual change?
LOCKHART: Well, for a minute, I thought back to the election of '74 right after Watergate, and that was just a huge victory for the Democrats. And they tried to get some things done, but - and we had a lot of inflation then, too, and unemployment was starting to creep in. And it just got bogged down. You know, the solutions got bogged down for whatever. And what I see here is, if anything can come out of this election, is a stoppage of combat operations in the Middle East because that's what's making things so unstable.
DETROW: In terms of the prices of fuel and everything else.
LOCKHART: Yes, yes. Yes.
DETROW: So, Heather, what about you? What are your honest feelings about whether the election will lead to any change in your life?
BECKER: I hope it does. I'm cautiously hopeful because, you know, it's like, you can only make so many cuts in your own personal budget until it's like, OK, what do we do now? What do we sell? What do we - you know, stuff like that. It said on the news on our news station - said that fuel costs rose 70% since the day the war started. That's just shocking, I mean, to hear it like that. So it's - yeah, it's hard on everybody. I mean, it just - and like I said, it keeps doing the trickling effect down. It's like, you know, somebody loses their job. Well, then a daycare loses a kid. Well, then somebody can't go out to eat, or, you know, people lose restaurants and everything.
DETROW: On that note, last question for you, Alex - last time we talked to you, it was the height of the World Cup. It was good time for your bar. I'm curious - is election night a good night for a bar or not really?
GARCIA: (Laughter) It depends.
(LAUGHTER)
GARCIA: I mean, I've done parties, you know, every time there's been, like, a major election, and things have not turned out sometimes. Like, you know, who we wanted to win didn't happen, and then it just turns into, like, this super depressing party.
(LAUGHTER)
GARCIA: So I have a feeling, you know, we'll probably have a good turnout of people just wanting to see what the results are going to be.
DETROW: Well, I'll be hosting our coverage, so no trips to the bar for me.
(LAUGHTER)
DETROW: That was Alex Garcia of Seattle, Washington, Heather Becker of Dilworth, Minnesota, and Chuck Lockhart in Whitefield, New Hampshire. Thanks to all three of you for talking to us again. We appreciate it.
BECKER: You're welcome. Thank you.
LOCKHART: Thank you.
GARCIA: Yeah, thanks for having us. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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