{
  "id": 2374413,
  "title": "America faces an affordability crisis like the one from 25 years ago, but needs a fresh solution",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/america-faces-an-affordability-crisis-like-the-one-from-25-years-ago",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-21T11:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/08/21/america-affordability-crisis-costco-walmart-mit-dartmouth/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Twenty-five years ago, global corporations confronted an affordability crisis due to the rapid growth of emerging economies, where the middle class was expanding at a much faster rate than developed economies. Many companies failed to grasp this trend by trying to force expensive, high-quality products onto low-income consumers or by cutting features to create cheaper variants. To succeed, companies had to focus on delivering value by providing core performance and quality at an affordable price point, taking into account the unique needs of emerging market consumers. Affordability has become a crucial factor in the upcoming midterm elections, as families struggle with increasing prices and inflation after the pandemic, seeking affordable yet high-quality products and services. America has already tried several strategies to combat affordability issues, but they may not be effective. One approach, nicknamed \"Costcofication,\" involves offering bulk discounts to lower prices, but this limits the appeal of popular brands and may not satisfy all consumers. Another strategy, \"Walmartfication,\" entails pressuring suppliers to reduce product quality to achieve lower prices, which could harm brand reputation and consumer satisfaction. The final strategy, \"Taxpayerfication,\" involves the government subsidizing services, leading to higher taxes or increased national debt – neither of which directly addresses the root cause of affordability issues. To tackle the current affordability crises in healthcare, housing, higher education, and childcare, companies must innovate with fresh solutions that offer high performance at low cost, providing true value to consumers. A proven playbook exists, derived from innovations in emerging markets. For instance, GE Healthcare successfully sold CT scanners in China and India by reusing, revising, and redesigning its premium Revolution scanner. By using fewer expensive components and improving software, GE created a Brivo CT scanner that performed 75% of the Revolution's functions at a much lower manufacturing cost of $56,000. Similarly, Gillette's failed attempt to launch a cheap razor in India led to the creation of the Guard razor, which was designed with Indian consumers' unique needs in mind. After observing how Indians shave differently, Gillette produced a more affordable product with four parts and lower prices for blades, leading to its success in the Indian market. These examples show that adapting innovative solutions from emerging markets can help address affordability challenges in the United States.",
  "summary": "We are living in an era when companies must find solutions that are not just lower-cost, but rather higher value. Costco and Walmart are worth a look.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}