Congress must go beyond affordability, Black leaders warn

The affordability story is incomplete

Black business leaders polled voters before the election and found they wanted more than lower prices. They sought immediate relief plus long-term pathways to get ahead economically.

What voters actually prioritised

Internal polling by Workbench Strategies in July 2026 of 1,400 voters found 45 percent chose caps on medical and prescription costs as a top-three priority. 43 percent chose raising wages to match living costs.

Black voters prioritised wages most

The same polling oversampled 400 Black voters and found 56 percent chose increasing wages to keep up with the cost of living as a top-three priority, higher than the overall average.

Voters want control of their futures

Focus groups conducted by HIT Strategies repeatedly heard voters say they wanted to take control of their own economic futures and for leaders to remove barriers to opportunity.

“they wanted to take control of their own economic futures and for leaders to remove barriers to opportunity”

Affordability crisis is mobility crisis

Lowering prices helps Americans reach the end of the month. But real progress requires pathways to homeownership, business ownership, rising wages and wealth building for future generations.

Democracy depends on economic opportunity

Research links economic inequality to institutional distrust and democratic backsliding. If elected officials fail to create pathways for Americans to get ahead, voters may look elsewhere in 2028.

Congress has 18 months to act

The newly elected Congress must signal it understands the mandate: address rising costs now while expanding homeownership, entrepreneurship, worker ownership and fair competition. The clock starts now.

“The clock starts now”