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This week we are taking a closer look at some of the biggest topics shaping our lives, starting with the economy.
Right now we’re experiencing contradictory realities about the economy. On the one hand, stocks are at record highs. Inflation is dramatically down from its pandemic peak. The White House says the U.S. is in a “Golden Age.” But many Americans are struggling to afford groceries, housing, healthcare, and other basics.
So we want to help you understand the answer to a simple question: Can Americans afford to meet their basic needs? Today we look at the household economy: prices, paychecks, healthcare, jobs, and what’s left after the bills are paid.
On Wednesday we’ll zoom out to look at the bigger picture: economic growth, inflation, debt, tariffs, and more.
Rohan built a bunch of graphs to help you make the changes easier to see. And at the end we give you a few key takeaways to ponder ahead of the midterms.
One way to understand the economy Americans are experiencing right now is to take a peek at the checkout counter. Prices for many of the things Americans buy most often are high and some are climbing. This is true even though inflation has come down substantially from its pandemic-era peak. (Reminder: Inflation is the rate at which prices are rising. Prices can stay very high when inflation is low.) During the 2024 campaign, Trump didn’t just promise to rein in inflation, which skyrocketed during Biden’s term. He repeatedly promised to ▶bring down ▶prices▶ * themselves*, and claims to be delivering. In almost all cases, the exact opposite happened.
Groceries: During Trump’s first year in office,food prices rose fasterthan during Biden’s last year. Ground beef prices areup more than 24%since January 2025. Coffee isup 33%.Eggsgot cheaper andchicken pricesare about the same, but overall,grocery prices are still rising, and amajority of Americansare struggling to afford them.
Food Assistance: At the same time, Trump and the GOPcut food assistance programs. Since the One Big Beautiful Bill became law,participation in SNAP, the federal food assistance program, is down 11%. That means more than four million Americans — including more than one million children — havelost access to critical food benefits.Energy:Since Trump took office, residentialelectricity prices have risenmore than 15%. Businesses and industrial users, including some data centers, have seen much smaller increases. Gas prices fell earlier in Trump’s term, but since the war with Iran started, they surged to $4.50. They’re currently above $4, something that hasnever before happened so late in the year. In many places,prices are much higher. Expertsthink they’ll remain high for a while, even if the war ends soon. A majority of Americanssay they’re struggling to afford gas.
Housing: For many families, the biggest affordability problem is housing. Home prices hita record highin June, while mortgage rates remain above 6%. That’smore than doublethe 3% rate Trump pledged to deliver. The combination of high prices and high rates is shuttingmany buyers out of the market. The number of home buyers fell to the lowest level in 13 years. That’sprompting sellers to pull their homes off the marketin droves. And owning a home has become more expensive too: more than 70% of homeownerssay their insurance costs have gone up, whilemortgage delinquencies have risenafter years of declines. (Find a great visualization of that last change, made by economist Steve Rattner,here.)
Healthcare: Healthcare is another major household expense moving in the wrong direction. For people who buy insurance through the ACA marketplace, average health insurance premiums are upan eye-watering 58% in 2026and theaverage deductible increased by over $1,000, the largest jump on record. Perhaps unsurprisingly,millions of people appear to have opted outof marketplace health insurance.Prices and Coverage: The administration hasreached agreementswith some pharmaceutical companies tolower drug prices, thoughexperts say most patientswon’t seesubstantial savings. Trump’s other policies are projected toleave more than 14 million people without health coverageover the next decade.
Taxes: Trump delivered massive tax cuts during his first term. Republicans passed a sweeping tax bill in 2025 extending and expanding many of those cuts, but the benefits were distributed unevenly. The biggest tax cuts went to the richest 5%. Everyone else, on average,paidmoretaxes in 2026 than the year before.Tariffs: Tariffs have also become a household cost. In 2025 tariffs cost theaverage American household roughly $1,744, largely because businessesraised prices and passed tariff costson to the consumer. The Supreme Court has since ruled that many of those tariffs were illegal. Businesses arecollecting tens of billions of dollarsin taxpayer-funded refunds, but many arenot passing that money back to consumers. You can think of tariffs asa taxpaid almost entirelyby American consumers and businesses. In effect, Americans paid twice: first through higher prices, then through taxpayer-funded refunds to businesses that may keep the money. Recall Trump promised togive Americans $2,000 eachfrom tariff revenue. So far, that hasn’t materialized.
Keep reading to find out…
How many jobs have been createdWhether wages have grown or shrunkHow people’s savings have changedWhy multiple kinds of debt have hit record highsKey affordability takeaways
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