Today, Defend America Action released a new report showing that Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have driven up the cost of nearly everything Kansans need while ripping away their health care and food assistance. The economy ranks as Kansas voters’ top issue, and the average Kansas family has spent an estimated $4,400 more on everyday essentials since Trump took office.
Trump’s war with Iran has pushed regular gas to $4.00 a gallon, up $1.24 from a year ago, costing Kansas families $947 more on average, and diesel hit an all-time state record of $6.25 a gallon in September. Kansas homeowners pay the fourth-highest home insurance premiums in the country after rates jumped 42.6 percent in five years.
Kansas farmers and ranchers are taking some of the hardest hits. Trump’s war bottled up almost half of the world’s urea fertilizer exports just as spring planting began, and Kansas farmers paid $83.2 million more for diesel during planting season than a year earlier. Trump then quadrupled Argentina’s beef import quota and waived tariffs on 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef, undercutting the biggest single sector of the Kansas economy.
Meanwhile, Trump and Republicans are ripping away the help families depend on. Over 40,000 Kansans have been kicked off their food assistance, including more than 18,000 children, and 11,761 Kansans have lost Medicaid or CHIP coverage. Another 36,040 have dropped their ACA coverage after premiums rose an average of 181 percent for those who counted on enhanced premium tax credits.
Kansas families are paying more for everything while Trump and his billionaire buddies cash in.
A full copy of the report can be found here.
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