Affordable groceries. Unaffordable life.

The New York Times/Siena poll asked registered voters how affordable a handful of basics feel right now. The results are oddly reassuring… and then quietly devastating.

Because the things that feel least affordable aren’t the small stuff. They’re the stuff that lets you build a life.

Share of voters saying each item is “unaffordable” (NYT/Siena, Jan 12–17):

• Transportation — 22%

• Utilities — 23%

• Food — 26%

• Groceries — 28%

• Having a family — 44%

• Health care — 47%

• Housing — 54%

• Education — 58%

Read that again: voters are more confident they can afford groceries than they can afford a home, an education, health care, or even the idea of starting a family.

That’s the Middle-Class Dream in reverse. The day-to-day is strained, sure—but it’s the foundations that are cracking: shelter, skills, stability, and the next generation.

And here’s the part that doesn’t show up in the chart: the four “unaffordable” pillars are exactly where government choices matter most—how much we build, how complex we make systems, how we staff care, what we subsidize, what we postpone. When public budgets get swallowed by aging-related costs (and the debt piled on top), everything else gets tighter, slower, more expensive—and harder to fix.