Nothing at all. 

That's all the White House really had to do to keep lowering the inflation rate after the Biden era and assuage the American public's concern that life was spiraling into an unaffordable economic doom loop. After all, inflation was already declining and President Donald Trump won the election primarily by promising a return to some sort of economic stability.

However, "nothing at all" was never really in the cards for Trump's second term. 

Instead, we've been given manic tariffs-by-diktat, continued overspending on the federal level, populist tax policies that have little impact on ordinary workers, even more tariffs and, last but not least, a new war in the Middle East. 

For a state, such as Nevada, that's particularly susceptible to economic downturns none of that is terribly reassuring. We've already seen some of the steepest price hikes in the nation under the Trump administration — and there are few signs we'll fare much better in the year ahead. 

With the administration's refusal to allow its ill-fated tariff regime to die at the hands of the Supreme Court, businesses will continue to struggle with higher costs — passing most of those costs on to consumers. And as if that's not bad enough, inflation continues to raise prices, albeit at a slower pace than during the previous administration. 

Together, such upward pressure on prices has had a real impact on the way voters feel going into an election year. In an eight-month period last year, for example, Nevadans saw prices rise by more than $900. And while gas prices remained slightly lower than they were in the last couple years, that trend is unlikely to continue as war rages throughout the Middle East. 

Making matters even worse is that here in Nevada, our dependence on California's expensive gasoline means prices at the pump tend to be higher than those in much of the nation. The regulatory environment for fossil fuels in the Golden State, along with protectionist policies on the federal level, means Nevada consumers better start bracing for gasoline prices that strain our budgets if global supply is seriously disrupted. 

In fact, even without the war on Iran spiking global uncertainty in the market, fuel prices weren't exactly projected to freefall to historic lows anytime soon. Despite Trump's crony tariff carveouts for the oil and gas industry, domestic producers were still being hit with cost hikes due to tariffs on products such as material and equipment needed for oil refineries — meaning that the administration's "buy American" pitch for avoiding higher prices wasn't ever really going to work out in the fossil fuel industry. 

Sure, there have been a few glimmers of hope for consumers, businesses and average Americans so far in Trump's second term, but not many. 

Some tax cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, such as "no tax on tips," enjoyed broad bipartisan support — however, the sweeping effects of such a policy will likely be limited. No wonder the public was extremely skeptical about the president's signature omnibus spending package. While some positives were included in the bill, it was also packed with massive spending and unintended consequences. 

A change in tax deduction policies on gambling losses, for example, was a supposedly inadvertent tax hike included in the massive bill, but it still hasn't been corrected. For obvious reasons, that particular provision is likely to have an outsized impact on Nevada's economy.

However, not everything is hopeless. "Affordability" is a relative term — and in many ways, things are financially better for Americans than they have been in previous decades despite the inflation, economic chaos, world events and central planning from overzealous politicians. 

As the notoriously optimistic website Human Progress points out, average hourly wage growth in America has outpaced inflation for at least the last two decades. As a result, televisions, household goods, clothing and even new cars are more "affordable" than they used to be — despite nominally higher prices — because most Americans have seen their paychecks grow faster than the prices of such goods. 

So why does everything still feel so unaffordable?

Well, two primary reasons. First of all, the last few years of high inflation have been quite shocking — and despite inflation rates dropping, prices have not yet come down to where they were just a few years ago. 

Second, and perhaps more important, is that despite our economic abundance in this country, the inflation rate for a great number of key economic sectors is still outpacing wage growth. Housing, child care and medical expenses have all become less affordable in recent decades — vastly outpacing whatever gains in income most Americans have experienced. 

It seems worth pointing out that many of these economic areas tend to be ones where government is heavily involved in micromanaging, regulating and futzing around with the market — which isn't great news, considering the two major parties' tendency to get involved in the marketplace when the public has concerns about the economy. 

This dynamic, mixed with our chaotic political landscape, is likely part of the reason much of America expects 2026 to be a pretty "challenging" year, despite the "abundance" that exists in our modern era. 

Trump-aligned Republicans understandably thought they did well in the last election because voters trusted their ability to address similar concerns following the Biden years. However, hiking prices through massive tariffs, driving our nation into even deeper debt and starting a new war in one of the most oil-rich corners of the world wasn't the sort of "something" voters expected to be done. Nothing at all would have been a better option. 

Unfortunately, politicians rarely promise to do nothing — so we should expect plenty more "challenges" ahead. 

Michael Schaus is a communications and branding expert based in Las Vegas and founder of Schaus Creative LLC, an agency dedicated to helping organizations, businesses and activists tell their story and motivate change. He has more than a decade of experience in public affairs commentary, having worked as a news director, columnist, political humorist and most recently as the director of communications for a public policy think tank. Follow him on Twitter @schausmichaelor on Substack @creativediscourse.