Americans Squeezed by Costs as Washington Weighs Fixes

Six in 10 Americans surveyed in August said the government should focus on lowering the cost of groceries, electricity and gas rather than raising household incomes. A POLITICO Poll captured a country where more than 70% say the federal government should do more about affordability but chooses not to. That includes 65% of Trump voters and 84% of voters for former Vice President Kamala Harris.

The numbers behind the frustration are stark. About 55% said the cost of living in their area was the worst they could remember. More than 25% said it had been 20 years or more since everyday items felt affordable. Nearly two-thirds said moving up the socioeconomic ladder was harder or impossible compared with the past. Across repeated surveys, Americans have pointed to rising costs, not stagnant wages, as the central problem by a two-to-one margin.

Who Bears the Burden

Jennifer Jones Austin, co-chair of the National True Cost of Living Coalition, said people see lower costs as "an easier fix because the government has not demonstrated that they're going to change the wage structure." She argued that government should address both prices and wages. "If your resources are depressed, you will never be able to build assets, which in America is essential for economic security," she said.

The strain shows up at the food pantry. Claire Neal, CEO of MANNA FoodBank in western North Carolina, said, "We're seeing lots of folks who have never struggled before and never anticipated to be standing in line at a food pantry." Last year's government shutdown cut SNAP benefits off to millions of people for the first time, and some pantries limited how often families could collect food. The One Big Beautiful Bill cut food aid and subsidized health care while extending a charity-specific deduction. Rep. Blake Moore, a Utah Republican, said, "There is a gap with what the government can do. Our welfare programs are not going to solve everything." Liza Lieberman of MAZON put it plainly: "We're obviously on the defensive."

The broader data show a split screen. Unemployment has stayed at or below 4.5% for nearly five years, and the S&P 500 has returned more than 12% annually. But New York Fed data show more households saying their finances are worse than a year ago. Real wage growth reversed in recent months amid inflation linked to the Iran war. Serious delinquencies on auto loans and credit cards have returned to levels last seen after the 2008 recession, and the share of Americans pulling money from 401(k) accounts for housing, medical expenses and tuition has tripled since the beginning of the decade. The bottom 90% of households hold less than one-third of U.S. wealth, barely changed since early 2011.

Market Power and Public Response

The egg market offers a case study. The average dozen rose from $1.93 in January 2022 to $4.82 a year later. Federal investigators later alleged that three of the country's largest producers coordinated bids through Egg Clearinghouse, Inc. Court records showed Hickman's, Cal-Maine and Versova submitted dozens of bids, exceeding all other buyers combined. One executive wrote, "As a group, we need to bid like they vote in Chicago, early and often."

The Justice Department's June 29 proposed settlement would impose a fine of about $3 million, an independent monitor for five years and 53 million eggs for food banks, with no admission of wrongdoing. The court hasn't approved it. Angela Huffman of Farm Action said, "If you steal a truck, for example, you're going to jail. But then these executives were accused of taking millions of dollars out of the pockets of the American public over a period of years, and the result was just a slap on the wrist." Austin Frerick, who has written about corporate agriculture, called it "such a joke." Companies said their conduct was lawful, and Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute said falling egg prices were consistent with supply and demand. Two class-action suits remain pending.

States and cities are moving where Washington hasn't. California's CalRx has lowered naloxone prices and made long-acting insulin pens available for $55. Geoffrey Joyce of USC Schaeffer said states acted because "the federal government hasn't done squat" on drug prices. Seattle Social Housing Developer, funded by a 5% tax on employers paying individual workers more than $1 million a year, acquired the 150-unit Elara complex. Tiffani McCoy, its interim CEO, said, "What we're lacking is political will." Utility regulators face new scrutiny as providers requested $18.6 billion in rate increases through the second quarter of 2026, with governors from both parties intervening.

The Administration's Tariff Retreat

President Donald Trump's trade policy has bent under pressure. According to the American Action Forum, the share of imports exempt from tariffs rose from about 30% under the original "Liberation Day" duties to roughly two-thirds under the July forced-labor tariffs. Exemptions now cover coffee, cocoa and more than 470 products. In August, the administration temporarily lifted tariffs on 300,000 metric tons of imports to ease record-high ground beef prices. Officials avoided new tariff announcements before the midterms.

Some economists urge caution. Bharat Ramamurti, a former deputy director of President Joe Biden's National Economic Council, called quick-fix politics a "mirage" and argued for reforms addressing wealth and income inequality. Jared Bernstein said, "When people tell me they're hurting, I tend to believe them." Jason Furman countered that inflation-adjusted family income is 70% higher than in 1970. A POLITICO Poll found 43% blamed Trump more than Biden for the economy, versus 28% who blamed Biden more.

Why This Matters: The affordability debate measures whether public institutions can still deliver for ordinary households. Families describe pressure on groceries, power bills and housing even as headline indicators look strong, and the bottom 90% hold barely more of the nation's wealth than in 2011. The egg case shows how concentrated markets can test enforcement: a proposed settlement of about $3 million, with no admission of guilt, strikes critics as weak. Meanwhile, states, cities and utility regulators are stepping in where federal action lags, so relief may depend on where people live. Food banks are absorbing demand that benefit cuts helped create. With the midterms near, the question is whether regulation, public investment and fairer wages, not one-time checks, will be the answer.