Cost of Living ‘Too High’ — Lewis Says Families Can’t Make It to Month-End

Opposition MP Richard Lewis used his Budget Debate contribution on Monday to paint a stark picture of household hardship, saying the rising cost of living is leaving families unable to stretch their salaries to the end of the month.

Lewis told MPs that even well-paid residents are complaining about how far their money now goes, noting that supermarket spending has become a weekly shock.

“If you go to the supermarket with $100 or $200, what you expect to come out of that supermarket with… is not so,” he said, describing what he called the “reality on the ground” for thousands of Antiguans and Barbudans.

With December only just underway, Lewis said many constituents have already spent most of their salaries.

He reported residents telling him they “don’t know how we’re going to make it through to the end of the month because we have used up so much of our resources already… because of the cost of living.”

The Rural West representative argued that while the government highlights economic growth and positive budget figures, those numbers “mean very little” to households struggling to keep up with food prices, bills and family expenses.

He said constituents are more focused on “bread and butter issues” than macroeconomic indicators.

Lewis also linked rising living costs to tax measures introduced over the past decade, saying increased levies and fees have reduced spending power and added pressure to household budgets.

He urged the government to take a more “people-centred” approach, warning that the economic narrative presented in the Budget does not match what residents are experiencing day to day.

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