Why Gen Z Should Stop Believing Democrats And The Media, And Start Trusting Reality Again

Thursday, December 18, 2025, 3:30 P.M. ET. 7 Minute Read, Op-Ed, By Haylee Ficuciello, Economy & Finance Editor: Englebrook Independent News,

WASHINGTON, DC.- After watching President Donald Trump deliver his prime-time address from the White House on Wednesday night, I found myself less focused on the speech itself and more disturbed by what came afterward.

     Within minutes, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries, and a chorus of legacy media “fact-checkers” rushed to the microphones, declaring President Trump “unhinged,” “untethered to reality,” and, most predictably, responsible for America’s affordability crisis.

     To my fellow Gen Zers who are struggling to make ends meet, I say this plainly: we are being lied to, again.

     And being a Gen Zer myself, with degrees in business and finance, I’ve reached a hard conclusion: There is a profound disconnect between Democratic leadership, their media allies, and economic reality.

     What we witnessed Wednesday night was not fact-checking. It was narrative enforcement. The same voices that stayed silent while our wallets were drained for four years under Biden suddenly found their outrage, now that President Trump is back in office.

Where Were The “Fact-Checks” When We Were Being Crushed?

     I remember very clearly completing my bachelor’s degree in business and finance during the height of the Biden administration’s economic failures.

     Gasoline prices exceeded $5 per gallon in many parts of the country. Grocery bills exploded. Rent skyrocketed. Credit card interest rates surged. And yet we were told repeatedly that everything was fine.

     Inflation was “transitory.”
     Two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth were “not a recession.”
     “Bidenomics is working.”

     Don’t believe your receipts. Don’t believe your rent bill. Don’t believe your eyes.

     By the time I completed my master’s degree in late 2024, it was impossible to ignore the truth: Democrats had sold an entire generation a bill of economic fallacies.

     And the legacy media played along.

What We Were Told vs. What Actually Happened;

Let’s break this down plainly, without political spin.

What we were told:

• Inflation would be short-lived
• Government spending would “stimulate” growth
• Energy restrictions would not raise prices
• Printing money would not devalue wages

What actually happened:

• Inflation reached its highest level in more than 40 years
• Real wages fell behind rising costs
• Rent, food, and fuel prices surged simultaneously
• Interest rates exploded, pricing Gen Z out of homeownership

     For Gen Z, this wasn’t an abstract policy debate. It was the difference between:

• Saving money or surviving
• Building credit or drowning in debt
• Moving out or staying stuck

     The disconnect wasn’t accidental; it was ideological

Biden’s Economic Record: A Case Study In Failure;

     Let’s be clear about what President Trump inherited.

     Under the Biden administration:

• Inflation peaked at over 9 percent, the highest in more than four decades
• Real wages declined for most American workers
• Mortgage rates more than doubled
• Credit card interest rates climbed above 20 percent
• Energy prices surged after domestic production was restricted
• Trillions in new federal spending flooded the economy

     This was not accidental. It was policy-driven.

     The Biden administration passed massive spending bills while simultaneously restricting American energy production, raising regulatory burdens, and declaring war on domestic manufacturing through climate mandates.

     Economics 101 tells us what happens next: too many dollars chasing too few goods.

     That’s inflation.

Economic Deep Dive: Why Spending + Energy Restrictions Always Backfire;

     Inflation does not appear out of thin air.

     When the Government Spends trillions it does not have, and 

     Restricts domestic production, especially energy

The result is guaranteed:

• Higher transportation costs
• Higher manufacturing costs
• Higher grocery prices
• Lower purchasing power

     Energy is the backbone of the economy. When fuel prices rise, everything becomes more expensive, from food distribution to housing construction.

     This is precisely why inflation accelerated under Biden, and why it began cooling once President Trump restored energy production and fiscal discipline.

History Repeats Itself, Ask Late Jimmy Carter;

     To better understand today’s Democratic rhetoric, I went back further, to the late 1970s and the Carter administration.

     The parallels are impossible to ignore.

     President Jimmy Carter oversaw:

• Inflation that climbed to 14 percent
• Energy shortages and gasoline lines
• Massive federal spending
• The creation of the U.S. Department of Education — widely viewed as a political concession to teachers’ unions
• Economic stagnation and declining consumer confidence

     The Federal Reserve, under Chairman Paul Volcker, was forced to raise interest rates to nearly 20 percent to stop inflation, triggering a severe recession and widespread unemployment.

     Sound familiar?

     The same party. The same policies. The same denial.

Reagan Was Blamed, Just Like Trump Is Today;

     When Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, Democrats and the media blamed him for the economic pain Carter left behind.

     They called his policies reckless. They mocked supply-side economics. They predicted disaster.

     What they never mention is that it took nearly two years for Reagan’s reforms to undo the damage caused by Democratic governance.

     By the mid-1980s, inflation was under control, economic growth surged, and America entered one of the strongest expansion periods in modern history.

     That is precisely where we are today.

Trump’s First Year Back: Signs Of Real Progress;

     After nearly one year back in office, President Trump has already begun reversing the damage.

     Food prices, while still too high, are stabilizing.
     Gasoline prices are coming down.
     Manufacturing investment is returning to the United States.
     Tariffs are generating billions of dollars in federal revenue.

     Most importantly, jobs are coming back, not government jobs, but private-sector manufacturing jobs that support real families.

     The latest Consumer Price Index shows inflation declining to 2.7 percent, a dramatic improvement from the Biden era.

     This did not happen by accident.

Economic Deep Dive: Why Tariffs Matter More Than The Media Admits;

The media loves to mock tariffs. But tariffs, when used strategically, do two critical things:

     Protect American workers from unfair foreign competition

     Incentivize companies to manufacture domestically

     When production returns home:

• Supply chains shorten
• Jobs increase
• Wages stabilize
• Price volatility declines

     Tariffs are not about punishment; they are about leverage.

     President Trump understands this because he understands business, not theory.

Why The Media Is Panicking;

     Legacy media outlets are not neutral observers. They are invested stakeholders.

     They ignored inflation under Biden.
     They dismissed recession warnings.
     They ridiculed Americans who were struggling.

     Now that economic indicators are improving under President Trump, they suddenly care deeply about “fact-checks.”

     That should tell you everything you need to know.

A Message To My Fellow Gen Zers;

     We are the most educated generation in history, and yet we are expected to accept the least scrutiny.

     We were told to ignore debt.
     Ignore inflation.
     Ignore energy policy.
     Ignore common sense.

     And when reality contradicted the narrative, we were gaslit.

     President Trump did not cause this crisis. He inherited it.

     And just like Reagan before him, he is fixing what Democrats broke.

The Best Is Yet To Come;

     Economic recoveries do not happen overnight, especially after years of mismanagement.

     But the trajectory is clear.

     Lower inflation.
     Falling energy prices.
     Reshoring of manufacturing.
     Job creation.
     Economic confidence is returning.

     President Trump was right Wednesday night when he said, “The best is yet to come.”

     For the first time in years, I believe it.

Editor’s Note:

This op-ed reflects the personal analysis and economic research of the author, Haylee Ficuciello, Economy & Finance Editor for Englebrook Independent News. All economic references are based on publicly available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve, as well as widely documented economic outcomes from the Carter, Reagan, Biden, and Trump administrations. Englebrook Independent News remains committed to fact-based reporting, economic transparency, and open discourse.