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 inexpensive.
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 tough. Wages haven’t gone up. Medical health insurance goes up. House insurance coverage goes up. Lease goes up. Younger individuals don’t have any hope of shopping for a house.”
There’s knowledge to again up lots of her issues. The truth is, some key affordability metrics present the state of affairs could also be worsening quite than bettering and even stabilizing. Right here’s a better have a look at the persistent squeeze that many Individuals, significantly youthful ones, face.
Extraordinary Individuals proceed to face a persistent affordability disaster. As of August, the patron worth index rose 2.9% over the previous 12 months, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). (2) Meaning costs are going up quicker than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. (3)
Trump’s ongoing and risky commerce struggle has added one other layer. As of October, customers face a mean efficient tariff fee of 18%, based on the Yale Funds Lab. (4) Goldman Sachs evaluation suggests companies are at the moment absorbing a lot of this value, however customers might ultimately shoulder 67% of tariff prices over time. (5)
In the meantime, lease and mortgage funds are going up quicker 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 Individuals want an revenue of $104,000 at the very least to afford a median-priced dwelling, based on CBRE. (6)
Within the midst of rising costs, wages are barely maintaining. The Atlanta Federal Reserve tracker discovered that three-month rolling wage development in August 2025 was 4.1% — nicely beneath the 6.7% development recorded in August 2022 beneath the Joe Biden administration. (7)
Feeling the squeeze, many customers are getting ready to tighten their belts. About 83% of adults stated they’ll strongly contemplate slashing their price range for non-essential objects within the months forward due to ongoing commerce tensions, based on a survey by Intuit Credit score Karma. (8) Youthful Individuals, together with Gen Z and millennials, have been the almost definitely to say so.
