Oh the Rent went UP! and the Pay went DOWN!
Said the folks in the Flats of Near-Nowhere Town.
They counted their coins with a sigh and a frown,
As prices went up and hope slipped around.

“I work all day long!” cried a Plumber named Pat.
“I patch and I pound and I this and I that!
Yet groceries grin as they gobble my stack—
My paycheck says hello, then runs right on back!”

Along came a Thinker in striped thinking socks,
With a hat full of numbers and policy rocks.
“Affordability’s not just a wish or a plea,
It’s rent you can pay and a life you can see.”

He scribbled and sketched on a chalkboard of air:
Homes that are homes, not a billionaire’s lair.
Food that is food, not a luxury treat.
Bills that don’t bite you right under your seat.

“Why must a sandwich be priced like a gem?”
Asked a Nurse named Nadine with a tired ahem.
“And why does a bus cost a fortune to ride,
When wheels and some gas are the things inside?”

The Thinker said, “Look! It’s a puzzling thing—
When costs start to soar, they forget how to cling
To the ground where the people are living each day,
Where affordability’s meant to stay.”

So they planted new rules like seeds in the dirt:
Fair wages that work, not wages that hurt.
Homes built for neighbors, not stacked for a flip.
Medicine priced so it won’t make you skip.

They trimmed the sharp edges of fees upon fees,
They loosened the grip of the Squeeze-Squeeze-Squeeze.
And slowly, oh slowly, a change came to town—
The Rent settled down, and the Pay rose up now.

And the people stood taller, their shoulders less tight,
With room in their budgets to breathe at night.
For affordability isn’t magic or flair—
It’s a choice we can make if we’re willing to care.

So remember, dear Reader, when prices run wild:
Ask who they’re for—every grown-up and child.
Because a world that is fair isn’t pricey or rare…
It’s one where life’s basics are actually there.

The Tariffs

Oh the Tariffs came marching with a clangity-clank!
They promised great riches but emptied the bank.
“For you!” said the sign with a trumpet and cheer—
Yet prices hopped higher for stuff already here.

And high on the hill sat the Oligarch crew,
With towers of plenty and yachts painted blue.
When markets get cozy and rules bend just right,
Their wallets grow fat while the rest feel the bite.

For tariffs can tax you without saying tax,
And oligarch deals stack the deck and the facts.
So affordability slips—quiet, unseen—
When power buys power and calls it “routine.”