Jared Bernstein: “65% of Americans say that Trump’s policies, rather than factors outside his control, are to blame for persistently high costs.”
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Defend America Action is releasing a new report, first published by Scripps News, highlighting the devastating affordability crisis Donald Trump and Republicans have created across America.
Cost-of-living ranks as one of the most important issues for 84 percent of voters, and 79 percent disapprove of Trump’s handling of it. The average American household has spent an estimated $4,700 more on everyday essentials under Trump, gas remains above $4 a gallon, and more than 5 million people have been kicked off food assistance because of Trump and Republicans’ cuts.
Defend America Action also hosted a press call this morning with former White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jared Bernstein, former Special Assistant to President Biden for Health Care Jessica Schubel, and Ohio State Representative Karen Brownlee to discuss the affordability crisis and its consequences for Americans.
“The electorate is deeply concerned about the cost of living. It ranks as one of the most important issues for over 80% of voters, and the majority of the electorate disapproves of Trump’s handling, not just of the economy in general, but of cost of living in particular,” said former White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jared Bernstein. “One particularly notable result here is that 65% of Americans say that Trump’s policies, rather than factors outside his control, are to blame for persistently high costs.”
“Republicans have done nothing to lower premiums or make it easier to access health care. In fact, they’ve made it worse,” said former Special Assistant to President Biden for Health Care Jessica Schubel. “They started by rolling back policies I put into place that made it easier for people to shop and buy their own health insurance. Then they enacted a bill that cut a trillion dollars from health insurance programs that hardworking Americans are enrolled in, like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. And they did all this to give rich people and big corporations more money.”
“I don’t think anybody out there thinks that the economy is doing well right now. People are hurting. People are worried about how they’re going to heat their homes this winter,” said Ohio State Representative Karen Brownlee. “People cannot afford houses here. They cannot afford childcare. They cannot afford to go to the doctor because of decisions that are being made at the state level to cut access in order to give huge tax cuts and giveaways to corporations and the wealthiest Ohioans.”
A recording of the press call is available here. Defend America Action’s new affordability report is available here.
# # #