1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am writing this furious, exhausted, and completely fed up. I make nearly $70,000 a year — a salary that should provide stability in a state that prides itself on affordability — and yet I am barely surviving here in Texas. I am relying on credit cards just to get through normal life. I am cutting out meals, skipping basic experiences, and constantly calculating what I can afford to lose next. This is not living. This is survival. My reality? I am so paycheck to paycheck that my bank account sits at mere dollars for weeks at a time while I wait for the next check. And when it finally hits, it disappears almost instantly — rent, utilities, groceries, insurance, debt. Gone. There is no cushion. There is no breathing room. Just a constant cycle of trying not to drown. Meanwhile, credit card companies show zero flexibility. The moment a payment is missed, the calls begin — dozens of times a day — aggressive and relentless. But when I ask for help? When I ask to simply adjust a due date so I can keep up? There is nothing. No solutions. No willingness to work with people who are clearly struggling. And all of this is happening while corporations continue to squeeze every last damn dollar out of Texans. Prices go up. Fees go up. Profits go up. But regular people? We’re expected to just absorb it and keep going. How is this acceptable in a state that claims to support working people? Let me be absolutely clear: Texas is becoming predatory to the working class. It is demanding every last dollar we make be handed over to companies that somehow think endless quarterly growth matters more than whether Texans can afford to live. Where are you in this? Because from where I stand, it feels like state leadership has either ignored or enabled policies that make this worse. Costs keep rising, protections feel nonexistent, and working Texans are left to fend for themselves. I am not asking for luxury. I am asking for the ability to live without constant financial fear. I am asking for policies that actually protect the people who keep this state running. Do your job. Address the cost of living. Rein in predatory practices. Put working Texans ahead of corporate profits. Because right now, this is not sustainable — and it is not acceptable. And Texas is certainly not affordable.