It's both because they're linked. Corruption worsens the affordability crisis. We can't solve the affordability crisis of this Trump regime without addressing its corruption crisis. The Trump regime is a powder keg of corruption that will blow up affordability and economic security for everyday Americans:
Trump’s massive tax cuts for billionaires & giant corporations lead to an increased federal deficit, cuts to federal programs for everyday Americans (healthcare, childcare, housing, education) and to higher interest rates causing increased costs for all of us.
Trump’s pay-to-play for giant corporations leads to more monopolization with higher costs and less accountability for pollution and environmental damage and for harms to consumers and workers.
Trump’s corrupt transactional foreign policy leads to higher tariffs with higher costs for American consumers, trade agreements that harm American workers and weakened alliances that lead to global instability with higher defense costs and worse economic uncertainty.
Trump’s cryptocurrency schemes enrich Trump and his buddies but create huge financial risk for all of us.
Trump and his buddies enrich themselves through corrupt practices while ordinary Americans face higher costs, reduced services, and greater economic insecurity. The corruption crisis and the affordability crisis are inseparable—solving one requires addressing the other.
Stanford Political Science Professor Says Anti-Corporation is a Key 2026 Campaign Issue
Stanford Political Science Professor Adam Bonica argues that the Democratic Party has a remarkable opportunity for broad political appeal to liberal Democrats, Independents, and to moderate Republicans by pursuing an aggressive anti-corruption campaign. Bonica indicates that anti-corruption has even broader appeal than affordability. Corruption is a weak point for dictators, often leading to their downfall. Democrats must take concrete steps to demonstrate their commitment to anti-corruption, such as banning congressional stock trading, rejecting big-money donations, and overhauling fundraising practices. Bonica argues that focusing on an anti-corruption agenda could potentially lead to a major political realignment. This strategy might provide Democrats with a unique opportunity to gain broader national support without alienating their existing base. Short Video Clip
Robert Reich & Guests Debate Affordability & Anti-Corruption As Campaign Issues
Well, I guess anti-corruption needs to be on the agenda. We have to stop corruption asap. It will be very difficult to recover the stolen money. Also, I'd like to get people tuned in to corruption in the Department of Defense programs. Defense contractors (and there are a lot of them) have been overcharging the DOD for decades with zero oversight. DOD still has no accounting whatsoever.