John and Terri Hale own the The Hale Group, an Ankeny-based advocacy firm focused on older Iowans. Reach them at terriandjohnhale@gmail.com

Frustrated. Angry. Scared.

That’s how many older Iowans and Iowans with disabilities feel about the economic realities of their lives.

They are struggling to pay the bills. They’re frustrated about the rising cost of living. And they’re worried about the future.

We’ve heard from them at recent forums in the Quad Cities, Des Moines, and Ankeny, in conversations with friends and acquaintances, and in social media messages.

They’ve given us an earful. The key takeaways:

The Trump administration and far too many of the elected officials who support it are out of touch with the real world. They point to the fact that the Trump Administration includes 13 billionaires, more than any Administration in history.

Iowans tell us, “These billionaires don’t have a clue” about the real world because they don’t have to do what regular people do to get by. They don’t have to choose between prescriptions or groceries; worry about having enough money to pay the rent or mortgage; keep the thermostat turned way down or drive cars with high miles and bad tires.  They don’t have to avoid doctor and dentist appointments because they can’t afford it.

Iowans are angry when they hear a billionaire president say that “affordability is a con job, a Democratic hoax.” Or when Scott Bessent, the billionaire Secretary of the Treasury says, “The American people don’t know how good they’ve got it.” Or when Howard Lutnick, the billionaire Secretary of Commerce, downplays the importance of Social Security when he says that his 94-year-old mother-in-law wouldn’t complain if her monthly Social Security check didn’t show up and that only “fraudsters” would make noise about it.

Iowans tell us those kinds of comments prove how disconnected the president and his cabinet members are from the everyday lives of many Americans.

Here is the reality: Far too many Iowans are struggling to pay for basic needs.

• Health Care: rising insurance premiums, co-pays and deductibles, prescriptions and over the counter medications, tests and treatments not covered by insurance.
• Long-Term Care: the high costs of nursing homes, assisted living centers, and home and community-based care.
• Groceries: increasing costs for almost everything from orange juice to beef to coffee.
• Car and home insurance.
• Rent, utilities, and property taxes.

Iowans say they are worried about what comes next. The “what ifs” of next month’s heating bill, the car that breaks down, the furnace that conks out, a scary diagnosis, having an extended illness, children or grandchildren they’ve been helping to support losing their jobs, and so on.

Here is what older Iowans and Iowans with disabilities tell us they want from elected leaders:

• Get out of their bubble and take the time to learn what real life is like for their constituents. Have real conversations with those who struggle to make ends meet.
• Understand that most older Iowans and Iowans with disabilities have fixed incomes that do not keep up with rising costs.
• Quit villainizing people who need help. Instead, have empathy and show compassion for those less fortunate. Attendees at every forum had friends, family or neighbors who were Medicaid recipients, on SNAP, using food banks, etc. They are people in situations they don’t want to be in, with real hardships, who need whatever help they are getting.
• Quit blaming Joe Biden for everything that’s not going well. As one person said: “Look, I was no fan of Joe Biden, but it’s time this president and all who surround him start being accountable.”
• Take action. Have less talk, less handwringing, and more getting things done. As another person said: “I want them to do what they said they’d do—lower costs.”  

One thing was clear: these Iowans will vote for those who demonstrate that they are listening to and working for real people with real struggles. They will not be voting for those who are blindly obedient to a president, those who say “how high?” when the rich and powerful say “jump,” or those who put their party over the people they seek to serve.

How will candidates respond? One thing is certain: Iowans will watch and judge.