‘Everything is going up’: Americans struggle with affordability despite Trump’s claims | Business

American workers are still struggling with the cost of living, despite Donald Trump’s campaign promises to solve America’s affordability crisis.

The Guardian spoke to workers as an exclusive poll revealed cross-party concerns over the Trump administration’s handling of the US economy.

Dawn Levie, 61, a postal worker in Paulden, Arizona, said she has lost thousands of dollars in income over the past year due to reduced hours, making it harder for her to be able to meet basic needs like paying for groceries and utility bills.

“It’s hard to describe how you feel when you can’t support yourself because your money is taking a hit,” Levie said. “You can’t pay your bills, [and] the creditors get angry. How do you tell them, ‘I just don’t have it?’

The White House insists that the affordability problem that Americans like Levie report does not exist. At a rally in Kentucky earlier this week, Donald Trump told the crowd: “Inflation is falling, incomes are rising, the economy is coming back strong!” »

Although positive sentiment will be a tough sell to voters in the upcoming midterm elections.

After helping Congress pass huge cuts to health care and food assistance programs, Trump is now pushing to eliminate minimum wage and overtime protections for some workers. And even though seven in 10 Americans said the tariffs led to higher prices, Trump only doubled the taxes.

Far from feeling like the United States is experiencing a golden age, workers said rising inflation meant their wages couldn’t keep up with prices.

“I know things are worse, because I live it and feel it every day,” said Bryan Williams, 63, a home health aide in Madison, Wis., who lives paycheck to paycheck on $17.65 an hour. “It’s very difficult trying to pay your rent, pay your bills, buy food, buy gas and juggle who you can afford. [and] which you can abandon.

“[I] wondering which one should I take, when I know I need both, or worrying about having enough money to get back and forth to work until another payday? Or will I have enough money to pay my lighting bill?

Vernice Thompson, 63, a saleswoman in Williamsburg, Virginia, said that even though she receives Social Security benefits, housing still accounts for half of her income.

“The races have increased. [The prices of] “A lot of foods I love have increased,” Thompson said. “I also know the price of clothing because I work in retail and I haven’t seen any drop in the price of clothing.”

“Everything is increasing,” she added.

Food prices rose 2.9% in January from a year earlier and are expected to rise 3.1% over the next year. Data shows the food insecurity rate reached 16% in November, up from 12.7% in January 2025.

U.S. utility prices also increased by more than 6% in January 2026 compared to the previous year.

More and more Americans are falling into debt due to the rising cost of basic necessities. Total household debt in the fourth quarter of 2025 reached $18.8 trillion, up 4% year to date. Delinquencies across all debt types increased 3.26% in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to 1.7% in the same period of 2024. Credit card debt in the United States at the end of 2025 reached a record $1.28 trillion.

Meanwhile, wages have stagnated for many workers. The lowest 10% of earners, receiving an average of $14.56 per hour, saw their wages fall 0.3% after adjusting for inflation in 2025. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has remained unchanged since 2009 – the longest period without an increase since the federal minimum wage was adopted.

By comparison, higher-income Americans are earning more than ever. Since 1979, high wages have increased twice as fast as low and middle wages.

“If people don’t get a cost of living increase, or just the bare minimum of a cost of living increase, it’s hard to keep up,” said Crystal Franklin, 54, an American passport specialist and mother of three who lives in Dumfries, Virginia.

Franklin said she started taking the bus to work because of rising gas prices and is more frugal at the grocery store. However, she still has less room in her budget for her grandchildren’s entertainment and leisure expenses.

“We are no longer able to do what we used to do because the cost of living has increased extremely,” Franklin said.

American families paid more than $1,700 in estimated costs due to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration from February 2025 to January 2026, with Trump announcing new tariffs to replace those struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court last month.

At the same time, Republicans have reduced the country’s social safety net. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed last summer, included massive cuts for the next decade, including more than $1 trillion from Medicaid, $536 billion from Medicare, and $186 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap).

On top of these cuts, the White House is letting Affordable Care Act subsidies expire, which will cause health insurance premiums for 22 million Americans to increase by about 114 percent, from $888 a year to $1,904 in 2026.

Trump also sought to cut wages for millions of low-wage workers. Last year, the president repealed an executive order that raised the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 an hour and provided annual raises to keep pace with inflation, affecting more than 300,000 workers. The White House is also trying to eliminate overtime protections for nearly 4 million home care workers who received a median wage of $16.78 an hour in 2024.

“Things were pretty tough last year,” Williams said. “I don’t believe anything Trump says, because everything he promised us would do hasn’t happened.”

A White House spokesperson, Kush Desai, disputed the economic trajectory under the Trump administration.

“America’s economic trajectory under President Trump has been strong,” Desai said. “This week’s CPI report showed that inflation continues to slow as the administration’s agenda of tax cuts, tariffs, and deregulation continues to generate solid real wage and investment growth. Once we move beyond the short-term disruptions from Operation Epic Fury, America is poised to see even greater economic progress as the administration’s trade deals, drug pricing agreements, deregulation and tax cuts continue to take effect.”