Jared Bernstein: “The Trump administration is not addressing the affordability crisis. They’re exacerbating the affordability crisis.”
Today, former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Jared Bernstein and former National Economic Council Senior Policy Advisor Aya Ibrahim joined Defend America Action for a press call discussing how Donald Trump’s economy is pushing working families to the brink.
Bernstein and Ibrahim highlighted how the one-two punch of Trump’s agenda is squeezing working families. His erratic and misguided tariff policy, which is raising prices on everything from groceries and clothes to school supplies, coupled with the budget-busting bill he signed recently, which pays for tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans by slashing health care and food assistance for millions, is making it even harder for working-class Americans to make ends meet.
“Trump’s policies are making life more, not less, expensive for American families, especially those in the bottom half of the income scale. If you consider the joint impact of his budget and the tariffs, it’s even worse than that. He and the congressional Republicans are literally taking from the bottom to give to the top.” said Jared Bernstein, former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. “In actions large and small, from taking away health coverage for millions of families, putting upward pressure on interest rates, to lowering rate wages for federal contractors, making it harder to cancel subscriptions, the Trump administration is not addressing the affordability crisis. They’re exacerbating the affordability crisis.”
“In addition to all of the actions that they have taken, I also want us to think about the cost of all of the uncertainty that they keep injecting into our economy and, by extension, into working families’ budgets. It’s very hard to plan, whether it’s major expenses like buying a new car or whether it’s your week to week grocery budget,” said Aya Ibrahim, former National Economic Council Senior Policy Advisor.
BACKGROUND:
- GROCERY STAPLES GET EVEN MORE EXPENSIVE:
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- Food prices are rising faster than inflation.
- Trump’s tariffs threaten to hike prices of core grocery staples, including salt and pepper, pasta, and fresh tomatoes, as well as key spices like vanilla and cinnamon, wine, and more.
- Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs threaten to raise prices for canned goods, including fruits, vegetables, and soda.
- Trump’s big, ugly bill takes food assistance away from at least 3 million Americans.
- BACK-TO-SCHOOL EXPENSES HIT AN ALL-TIME HIGH:
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- Parents of school-aged kids are shopping earlier than ever before, with 67 percent of shoppers already starting to purchase supplies for the upcoming school year in early June.
- Prices of school supplies and books are at an all-time high.
- Trump’s big, ugly bill eliminates school meal access for more than 18 million kids.
- CLOTHING PRICES PILE UP:
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- Clothing prices are rising in the U.S as top retail outlets like H&M and Nike hike prices due to tariffs.
- Prices for men’s shirts, men’s sweaters, and women’s dresses are all up and rising faster than inflation.
- TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS ARE RAISING HEALTH CARE COSTS FOR TENS OF MILLIONS OF AMERICANS:
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- Trump’s big, ugly bill kicks nearly 17 million people off their health insurance and cuts $1 trillion from Medicaid.
- Trump’s big, ugly bill will force hundreds of hospitals to close across the country.
- Trump’s big, ugly bill raises health care costs for tens of millions of low- and middle-income Americans.
- TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS OPT FOR HIGHER ENERGY BILLS AS ELECTRICITY COSTS SPIKE:
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- Trump’s big, ugly bill raises energy costs up to 18 percent for everyone – even as electricity prices are rising nationwide by as much as 20 percent this summer.
- Trump’s big, ugly bill kills millions of jobs in clean energy.
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