From “Day One” to “Give It Time”

And Other Fairy Tales About the Economy

Remember when everything was supposed to be fixed on Day One?

Inflation crushed.

Economy roaring.

Groceries magically cheaper.

Gas behaving itself.

America “back,” like a borrowed lawn chair finally returned.

Fast-forward a few months and suddenly the language has shifted. It’s no longer:

“We’ll fix this immediately.”

Now it’s:

“Well… these things take time.”

Oh?

Funny. It didn’t “take time” when you were campaigning.

The Great Narrative Shift

On Day One, we were promised a miracle economy.

An instant relief package for the average American.

A glorious reset.

But now that the campaign confetti has been swept away, the messaging has quietly morphed into:

• “The economy doesn’t turn on a dime.”
• “These are long-term changes.”
• “You just have to be patient.”

Patient?

Some of us are living on fixed incomes, not venture capital and lobbyist cocktails.

And the thing is — they knew it couldn’t change overnight. They just didn’t care.

“Day One” was marketing.

“It takes time” is damage control.

“No Inflation”

Let’s talk about the first claim currently floating around:

“Inflation is under control.”

Now listen, I don’t care what the charts say — I live in a grocery store, not a spreadsheet.

Eggs didn’t get the memo.

Bread expects a small loan.

Butter now requires a background check.

And good cheese has become a luxury item, not a basic human right.

They love saying inflation is “down,” without clarifying:

• Down compared to what?
• Down where?
• Down for who?

Because inflation doesn’t hit everyone equally.

If you’re wealthy, inflation is an inconvenience.

If you’re retired, disabled, or living on a fixed income — it’s a slow financial suffocation.

And no politician gets to gaslight me about it while my receipt reads like a ransom note.

“Wages Are Up”

This one is my personal favorite.

Yes, technically wages are “up.”

But so is everything else.

What they don’t tell you is that if:

• Your wages rise 3%
• And your groceries rise 12%
• And your utilities rise 18%
• And your prescriptions rise 25%

Then congrats!

You are mathematically poorer with better looking numbers.

Wages “up” means nothing if your cost of living is sprinting ahead of them.

It’s like getting a 10-cent raise when the bus fare goes up a dollar — and then being told to feel grateful.

Fixed Income Reality

Here’s something their press conferences never address:

People on fixed incomes don’t get “raises.”

We get adjustments.

Microscopic, polite, bureaucratic suggestions of help.

Our money doesn’t “go further.”

It goes… less often.

We notice it in:

• The gas pump (which now laughs at us)
• The pharmacy counter
• Utility bills that read like emotional threats
• Rent and property taxes creeping up like clockwork

So when politicians stand there and tell us the economy is “booming,” it feels like being told it’s sunny during a hurricane.

The Lie Isn’t the Number

Here’s the truth bomb:

The lie isn’t that some numbers improved.

It’s that those improvements reach everyday people.

They don’t.

If the stock market hits a record high, my grocery cart doesn’t care.

If corporate profits surge, my Medicare doesn’t celebrate.

If billionaires get richer, my electric bill doesn’t feel “trickled down on.”

The economy they talk about is not the one we live in.

It’s a different zip code entirely.

Why This Messaging Matters

This shift from:

“Day One” → “It’s complicated”

is intentional.

It’s how failure gets rebranded as patience.

It’s how broken promises get normalized.

It’s how they wiggle out of accountability while still smiling into cameras.

And the real danger isn’t just inflation or wages — it’s the attempt to convince us that our lived experience is wrong.

But here’s the thing:

You cannot spin groceries.

You cannot campaign-speak a light bill.

And you sure as hell can’t talk a retired woman out of what she sees on her own receipts.

Final Word

So when they say:

“No inflation,”

“We fixed it,”

“It’s getting better,”

Those of us balancing real budgets, real medicine, real groceries, and real lives…

Call it what it is:

BULLSHIT.

And not the affordable kind.

Julie Bolejack, MBA

juliebolejack.com

mindfulactivist.etsy.com