Six months into Donald Trump’s second term, American households are facing mounting financial pressures—and a growing number are pointing directly to the White House and Republican-led policies as the cause.
A new report released Thursday by the Century Foundation, in partnership with Morning Consult, reveals that a majority of Americans are struggling to meet basic financial obligations, with over 60% blaming Trump’s administration for their economic hardship. According to the report, “financial insecurity is widespread and runs deep,” with concerns rooted not only in recent developments but in long-standing structural issues exacerbated by the current administration’s actions.
The findings come as inflation remains high and costs for essentials such as groceries, rent, and healthcare continue to climb. While President Trump promised to “immediately bring down inflation” upon taking office, most Americans say they are feeling the opposite.
“More than 4 in 5 Americans (83 percent) are concerned about the price of groceries, with nearly half (46 percent) saying they are very concerned,” the Century Foundation found. “Nearly half (47 percent) of Americans are worried about their current ability to pay their rent or mortgage. And nearly two-thirds (64 percent) worry about their ability to pay an unexpected medical expense if one should arise. Nearly half of all Americans (48%) believe they would have difficulty paying an unexpected $500 bill without borrowing.”
These economic anxieties are especially acute among Generation Z, as well as Black and Latino communities across all age groups. In response to rising costs, Americans are turning to increasingly precarious financial strategies.
“More than a third of Americans are turning to high-cost debt to cover their bills,” the report states. “Significant shares have also had to turn to credit cards (37 percent) or take on debt (29 percent) to afford the bills. This is consistent with the larger trends in use of credit products, like the notable shift in use of ‘buy now, pay later’ products for groceries. The rates of families using credit card debt to cover expenses is all the more concerning as credit card delinquencies continue to rise.”
Nearly 2 in 5 Americans said they had dipped into personal savings at least once in the last year to pay bills, and 1 in 4 said they had skipped meals to make ends meet. Alarmingly, even among households with annual incomes above $100,000, more than one-third reported that a $500 emergency expense would be difficult to cover without resorting to credit or savings—suggesting that economic precarity is now reaching into traditionally stable income brackets.
At the heart of these concerns is a growing recognition among voters that corporate power, not just inflation, is to blame for high living costs.
“Across party lines, Americans believe that tamping down corporate power will help them,” the Century Foundation writes. “According to most Americans, actions that hold the wealthy and powerful accountable would help them and people like them. That includes reducing the influence of money in politics (60%), prosecuting companies that cheat workers and consumers (60%), and raising taxes on the rich (57%).”
Public frustration with Trump’s economic policies is also reflected in a new poll conducted by YouGov for The Times, which found that 50 percent of Americans believe the economy is getting worse under Trump, while just 24 percent believe it is improving. “The honeymoon at the beginning has gone: Inflation and jobs are still the leading issues and there is not a perception of anything improving,” said YouGov analyst Mark Blumenthal. “The survey suggests that Trump’s two flagship economic initiatives—his tariffs and the One Big Beautiful Bill—are not perceived as helping the economy.”
In an effort to translate this frustration into tangible data, the economic justice organization Unrig Our Economy launched a new interactive tool called “Don’t Inflate Our Plates,” which tracks how much prices for everyday goods have risen since the start of Trump’s second term—and attributes those increases to policy decisions made by Trump and congressional Republicans.
The tool, based on historical trends, supplier data, and market analysis, shows stark price increases in many states. In Texas, the price of beef has increased by nearly 47 percent, while eggs now cost $3.19 more than they did before Trump’s second term. In California, egg prices are up by over $5.00. Kroger pricing data, used in the analysis, found that beef prices rose between 16 percent and 72 percent in states with Kroger stores, with the steepest increases in Alaska and Utah. In Michigan, a state Trump carried in 2024, egg prices rose 58 percent.
“Trump and Republicans in Congress are single-handedly inflating the cost of everyday items that Americans rely on,” said Leor Tal, campaign director for Unrig Our Economy. “While billionaires and corporations cash in on Republican-backed tax breaks, working-class families are left paying higher prices for eggs, coffee, and more.”
Unrig Our Economy and Groundwork Collaborative both point to corporate behavior that mirrors trends from the COVID-19 pandemic, when many companies used supply chain disruptions as a pretext for raising prices. Executives now appear to be using tariffs the same way. One CEO of a footwear brand stated in an earnings call, “We certainly welcome a reduction in the Chinese tariffs, but we’ll be announcing a price increase here regardless of any changes of the Chinese tariffs over the next week or two to go into effect in June.”
More tariffs are expected to be announced Friday, with Trump preparing to impose rates up to 50% on some imports.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has enacted several regulatory rollbacks that directly benefit corporations while making it more difficult for consumers to push back against unfair pricing and billing practices. These include efforts to overturn a Biden-era Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule that allowed consumers to easily cancel subscriptions, the FTC’s decision to drop a lawsuit challenging price discrimination by PepsiCo, and its move to shut down public comment on corporate pricing practices.
These deregulatory moves come in the wake of Trump’s sweeping domestic policy and budget package, which included the largest cuts to public assistance programs in U.S. history. The legislation slashed Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, increased monthly payments for student loan borrowers under income-driven repayment plans, and delivered $117 billion in tax cuts to the top 1% of earners, while providing just $77 billion in cumulative savings to the bottom 60%.
“While the federal government tears down programs such as Medicaid and food assistance and federal regulators give the green light to companies to rip off consumers, families are being forced to construct their own safety nets from a web of risky financial practices,” the Century Foundation concluded.
In its polling, the organization found that more than half of Americans believe “billionaires, corporations, and congressional Republicans have made their lives harder.” With polling numbers, economic data, and consumer prices all telling the same story, economic anxiety in the United States appears to be accelerating—along with growing demands for accountability and reform.
COMMENTS