New Mexico Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich has come to the defense of rapper Cardi B, following comments she made about the economy.
Earlier this week, the outspoken rapper and recording artist made observations about the rising cost of living in an Instagram live video that went viral.
“I feel so bad because I didn’t realize how quickly they raised the rent prices, and I’m out there asking y’all to buy my, my album and s–t. I’m so sorry. Like when I was out looking at those rent prices, I was so f**king disgusted. They need to give people, just because you don’t have kids, they need to make it a little bit easier together, to get a lil somethin, to get a little help because how the f**k are you motherf**kers surviving,” she said.
Billboard reports that Henirich reposted the video on X on Thursday and elaborated on the Bronx rapper’s observations.
“@iamCardi B is right. And it’s not just rent that’s going up – costs are rising across the board. From your rent to your groceries to your utility bills to your health care premiums, this administration is making your life more expensive and Republicans in Congress aren’t doing anything to stop them,” Heinrich posted, castigating the Trump administration and the Republican-led Congress for the large upward swing in rents and prices.
The Economic Research Service at the U.S. The Department of Agriculture found that the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, for food from grocery stores or supermarkets jumped by 0.3 % between July and August 2025 and is 2.7% higher than it was in August 2024. The cost of food from restaurants rose by 0.3% between July and August, and was 2.7% higher than in August 2025.
Prices for all food are expected to rise by 3% in 2025, according to the data.
As for housing, the surges in rent that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic have largely stabilized, but according to an analysis of rent trends by Apartments.com, the average rent in the U.S. has continued to climb, with the average rent now $1,630, or 0.6% higher than it was at this point last year. Prices vary by state and region, but the data shows that the average monthly rent for a 669 square-foot property in New Mexico is $1,178.
Heinrich places zero blame on his side of the aisle which is responsible for much of the inflation after 45 had a decent economy before 46’s mess. 47 has gone equally senile.
During Obama’s presidency the CPI was 0.25%, peaking at 0.75%. It hovered around 2% in the first Trump presidency. The COVID-19 pandemic started up spring of 2020, the last year of the first Trump presidency. Inflation leaped to 7% in 2021, the first year of the Biden presidency. Recall that inflation has to be calculated after-the-fact, so that represents an effect from actions taken in 2020. Inflation began to subside in 2022, but it’s not till the last year of the Biden presidency (2024) that it is down to ~3%. Economists had been fearing a recession but in fact employment was robust. Mr. Trump was handed a good economy, a surprising recovery from the COVID-19 disaster.
In the current administration it is hard to see how dismantling the federal workforce and slashing federal government support for science and technological progress is going to improve the economy. It would appear that these actions along with the large tax break for the very wealth is going to increase the wealth (in the short term) for those business owners. They will have opportunities to privatize services which are currently provided by the government. But all of us taxpayers are going to be burdened even more once all the folks who were kicked off Medicaid and with reduced Medicare services end up in the ER and, at least for some of them, homeless.
Another looming economic problem is that the quota-driven immigration deportations together with the new tariffs are fueling inflation for food and goods. So they are effectively an additional tax which affects the working class and poor more than the wealthy (because food and goods require a smaller percentage of income for the wealthy). They serve to make the tax burden more regressive. And they are a form of taxation without representation … the very thing our founding fathers protested against to begin with.