67岁的加里·波德别尔斯基在食品、水电费和汽油上的开支都在增加，而且他对账单下降并不乐观。“一旦涨上去，就再也降不下来了。”
Gary Podbielski, 67, is paying more for food, utilities and gas — and he’s not optimistic about his bills decreasing. “Once it goes up, it never goes down.”
67岁的加里·波德别尔斯基站在他位于得克萨斯州密苏里城的家中。波德别尔斯基是一名共和党人，他对高昂的油价和食品杂货价格感到不满。（霍普·莫拉/为《华盛顿邮报》拍摄）中期选举前夕，《华盛顿邮报》推出了一系列全国选民的剪影报道，这些选民都将生活负担能力列为最关心的问题。以下是该系列的第六篇。
Gary Podbielski, 67, stands at his home in Missouri City, Texas. Podbielski, a Republican, is upset with the high price of gas and groceries. (Hope Mora/For The Washington Post) Ahead of the midterm elections, The Washington Post is offering snapshots of voters across the country who cite affordability as a top concern . Here is the sixth in the series.
“我并不怀念以前的油耗，”这位来自纽约的退休IT专业人士、长期共和党人说道，并指出他租赁的起亚Telluride每加仑大约能跑27英里。
“I don’t miss the gas mileage,” the retired IT professional and longtime Republican from New York said, noting his leased Kia Telluride gets about 27 miles per gallon.
67岁的波德别尔斯基认为，油价正在推高几乎所有其他东西的成本。他正在调整恒温器、取消有线电视，并趁打折时购买廉价牛肉。
Podbielski, 67, sees gas prices increasing the cost of nearly everything else. He’s adjusting his thermostat, canceling cable and shopping sales on bargain beef.
“现在食品的价格简直离谱。所有东西都涨了，”他说。“我们已经不怎么出去吃饭了。我们买预制餐，这样就不用那么频繁地去购物。但就连那些也超出了价格承受范围。”
“It’s crazy how much food costs now. Across the board, everything has gone up,” he said. “We just don’t go out to eat a lot anymore. We buy premade meals so we don’t have to shop as much. But even those have gotten out of price range.”
他在水电费、房屋保险和税费上的支出也增加了。而且他对账单下降并不乐观。
He’s paying more for utilities, home insurance and taxes, too. And he’s not optimistic about his bills decreasing.
“一旦涨上去，就再也降不下来了，”他说。“历史证明了这一点。”
“Once it goes up, it never goes down,” he said. “History proves that.”
波德别尔斯基形容自己是“紫色”的（即立场混合）。他从未投票给总统唐纳德·特朗普，他说自己不喜欢特朗普。乔治·W·布什是最后一位赢得他总统选票的共和党人。他不喜欢前总统乔·拜登的边境安全政策，曾是“一个反希拉里的人来说”，但他支持女性权利，并担心气候变化。他曾投票给前总统巴拉克·奥巴马。波德别尔斯基将成本上涨归咎于特朗普和其他共和党领导人。
Podbielski describes himself as “purple.”He never voted for President Donald Trump, whom he said he dislikes. George W. Bush was the last Republican who won his vote for president. He didn’t like former president Joe Biden’s border security policies, was “an anti-Hillary person,” but he supports women’s rights and worries about climate change. He voted for former president Barack Obama. Podbielski blames Trump and other GOP leaders for rising costs.
“我知道这在很大程度上与关税和战争有关，”他说。“因为汽油和柴油太贵了，这就抬高了所有东西的成本。”
“I know it’s a lot to do with tariffs and the war,” he said. “Because of gas and diesel being so expensive, it just raises the cost of everything.”
波德别尔斯基提前投了票，并采取了分裂投票的方式。他把票投给了民主党人詹姆斯·塔拉里科竞选美国参议员、吉娜·伊诺霍萨竞选州长，而在地方职位上则投给了共和党人。他认为其他共和党人也会做出类似的抗议性投票。
Podbielski voted early, splitting his ticket. He voted for Democrats James Talarico for U.S. Senate and Gina Hinojosa for governor and Republicans for local offices. He thinks other Republicans will make similar protest votes.
“我就是觉得这将会是一记警钟，”他谈到共和党时说，“这是个制衡的问题。”
“I just think it’s going to be a wake-up call,” he said of the GOP. “It’s a checks and balances thing.”
得克萨斯州参议院选举是可能决定哪个政党控制该院的七场关键选举之一。得州的一些保守派和右倾独立人士告诉《华盛顿邮报》，他们和波德别尔斯基一样，对共和党处理经济、能源成本和数据中心的方式感到不满。他们计划把票投给民主党人以示抗议。
The Texas Senate race is among seven key elections that could decide which political party will control the chamber. Some conservatives and right-leaning independents in Texas have told The Washington Post that, like Podbielski, they are dissatisfied with how the GOP is handling the economy, energy costs and data centers . They plan to vote for Democrats in protest.
波德别尔斯基说，他认为自己过去支持过的州长格雷格·阿博特和其他得州共和党领导人正在向科技和数据中心公司卑躬屈膝，其方式已经损害了该州的经济和基础设施。
Podbielski said he sees Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas GOP leaders he has supported in the past as kowtowing to tech and data center companies in ways that have hurt the state’s economy and infrastructure.
上图：波德别尔斯基在当地杂货店购物。下图：波德别尔斯基拿着最近的一张电费账单。（霍普·莫拉/《华盛顿邮报》）“电网承受不了，”他说，并指出电力和水价已经在上涨，而且得州近年来在风暴过后经历过停电。他说，他担心更多的数据中心只会推高水费和电费，并使州基础设施不堪重负。
Top: Podbielski shops at his local grocery store. Above: Podbielski holds a recent electric bill. (Hope Mora/For The Washington Post) “The grid can’t handle it,” he said, noting that electricity and water prices are already increasing and that Texas has experienced blackouts in recent years after storms. He said he worries more data centers will only raise the cost of water and electricity and strain state infrastructure.
波德别尔斯基2019年退休。他的妻子曾在州政府担任创伤研究注册护士，2024年退休，但仍继续兼职做私人顾问。他们依靠她的兼职薪水和州养老金，外加他在扣除税款和联邦医疗保险保费后从社会保障局领取的2.4万美元。他说，她下个月就65岁了，但一直打算继续兼职工作。
Podbielski retired in 2019. His wife, who worked for the state as a trauma research registered nurse, retired in 2024 but continues to work part-time as a private consultant. They rely on her part-time salary and state pension, plus the $24,000 he receives from Social Security after taxes and Medicare premium deductions. She turns 65 next month, but has always planned to keep working part-time, he said.
“她会尽量能工作多久就工作多久，”波德别尔斯基说，“医疗领域因为各种预算削减而很难熬。她能撑到今年年底。”
“She’s going to try to go as long as she can,” Podbielski said. “It’s hard in the medical field because of all of the budget cuts. She’s good through the end of the year.”
波德别尔斯基对杂货价格感到非常沮丧，以至于妻子禁止他陪同购物。他们没有信用卡债务，但他担心开销。他们计划在未来几个月去哥斯达黎加、佛罗里达州、西南部和太平洋西北部旅行——这些假期现在让他担心负担不起。“我们不该像现在这样花钱，”他说。“我应该存钱。”
Podbielski gets so frustrated with grocery prices that his wife banned him from shopping with her. They don’t have credit card debt, but he worries about expenses. They’ve planned trips in the coming months to Costa Rica, Florida, the Southwest and Pacific Northwest — vacations he now worries they can’t afford. “We shouldn’t be spending money like we are,” he said. “I should be saving it.”
他说，他们住在哥斯达黎加朋友家，使用继承来的佛罗里达州分时度假屋，或者听取分时度假推销以换取免费住宿，“按预算旅行”。
They’re staying with a friend in Costa Rica, using inherited timeshares in Florida, he said, or listening to timeshare pitches in exchange for a free stay, “traveling on a budget.”
“我去过除北达科他州以外的每一个州；每一个国家公园。我们参加很多旅行团。我们想趁现在能旅行时多旅行，”他说，并提到自己因吸烟50年而患有肺部问题。
“I’ve been to every state except North Dakota; every national park. We do a lot of tours. We want to travel while we can,” he said, noting he has lung issues from smoking for 50 years.
“我知道我的时间快到了。我会做好准备。我想趁现在把旅行做完。”
“I know my time is coming. I’ll be ready for it. I want to get my traveling in.”
波德别尔斯基停下来给SUV加油。他说他卖掉了皮卡，新车的油耗表现更好。（霍普·莫拉/为《华盛顿邮报》拍摄）
Podbielski stops to fill his SUV with gas. He got rid of his truck and said his new vehicle gets better gas mileage. (Hope Mora/For The Washington Post)
