Greater than 9 months into his second time period, President Donald Trump is struggling to ship on a key marketing campaign promise: making life extra reasonably priced.
That’s not criticism from a political adversary however an admission from a fellow Republican, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
“Costs haven’t come down in any respect,” Greene stated on the The Tim Dillon Present. (1) “The job market is extraordinarily troublesome. Wages haven’t gone up. Medical insurance goes up. Residence insurance coverage goes up. Lease goes up. Younger individuals don’t have any hope of shopping for a house.”
There’s information to again up a lot of her considerations. In actual fact, some key affordability metrics present the state of affairs could also be worsening quite than enhancing and even stabilizing. Right here’s a better have a look at the persistent squeeze that many People, significantly youthful ones, face.
Bizarre People proceed to face a persistent affordability disaster. As of August, the patron value index rose 2.9% over the previous 12 months, in response to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). (2) Which means costs are going up sooner than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. (3)
Trump’s ongoing and risky commerce conflict has added one other layer. As of October, shoppers face a median efficient tariff price of 18%, in response to the Yale Funds Lab. (4) Goldman Sachs evaluation suggests companies are presently absorbing a lot of this value, however shoppers may finally shoulder 67% of tariff prices over time. (5)
In the meantime, hire and mortgage funds are going up sooner than inflation. In August, housing prices rose 3.6% over the previous 12 months, BLS date reveals. As of mid-2025, home price-to-income ratio is at an all-time excessive, and People want an earnings of $104,000 a minimum of to afford a median-priced residence, in response to CBRE. (6)
Within the midst of rising costs, wages are barely maintaining. The Atlanta Federal Reserve tracker discovered that three-month rolling wage progress in August 2025 was 4.1% — nicely under the 6.7% progress recorded in August 2022 below the Joe Biden administration. (7)
Feeling the squeeze, many shoppers are getting ready to tighten their belts. About 83% of adults stated they’ll strongly think about slashing their funds for non-essential objects within the months forward due to ongoing commerce tensions, in response to a survey by Intuit Credit score Karma. (8) Youthful People, together with Gen Z and millennials, have been the most definitely to say so.
