The decisive Democratic wins on Tuesday contain a simple message to people who set economic policy: Americans really, really want stuff to be cheaper.

The big picture: Economists take comfort in the fact that the rate of inflation has come down dramatically from its 2022 peak, and that tariffs are likely to cause only a one-time price bump. • But the level of most prices has continued drifting upward for years, amounting to a significant increase in the cost of many necessities. • It suggests that Trump administration and Federal Reserve officials who see the war on inflation as pretty much won are out of step with voters, who want to see prices fall (though that implies economy-wide deflation, which can be highly unpleasant in its own ways).

Between the lines: Republicans learned a

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