This morning’s Consumer Price Index report showed Trump’s economy is getting less affordable for working families each month. Energy prices are up 14.7% over the past year, and the cost of gasoline alone has jumped 24.6%. The report lands days after a jobs report that showed employers cutting positions in July and a new Federal Reserve study showing credit card debt has climbed to $1.26 trillion, painting a picture of an economy where prices keep rising while paychecks and job security do not.
Trump has failed to deliver the affordability he promised voters. Families are paying more across housing, food, travel, and medical care, all while the labor market weakens and household debt climbs to record levels.
The numbers tell the story:
- Energy costs remain far above where they were a year ago. The energy index is up 14.7% over the past 12 months, driven by a 24.6% jump in gasoline prices, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released this morning. Fuel oil costs are up 39.1% over the same period.
- Eating out costs more than ever, and it is outpacing groceries. Food away from home rose 3.4% over the past year, while food at home rose 2.7%.
- Shelter costs keep grinding higher. The shelter index, which accounted for roughly two-thirds of July’s overall price increase, is up 3.2 % over the past year, with rent and owners’ equivalent rent both continuing to rise.
- Travel and healthcare are getting more expensive too. Airline fares have jumped 25.5% over the past year, and overall medical care costs are up 1.7%, even as competition briefly pushed prescription drug prices down.
- The labor market is already cracking. The economy shed 23,000 jobs in July, a stunning reversal that came with a combined 103,000 downward revision to May and June. The unemployment rate only ticked down because people are leaving the workforce, not because they are finding jobs.
- Households are drowning in credit card debt. Credit card balances climbed to $1.26 trillion in the second quarter, and the share of balances in serious delinquency jumped to 12.8 %, a level the New York Fed says is prompting comparisons to the Great Recession.
“Families are racking up credit card debt just to afford gas and groceries, and Trump is out there calling this economy great. He’s mocking the same affordability crisis he promised to fix, all while his administration spends its energy on lavish White House renovations instead of lowering costs for working people,” said American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson Brandon Weathersby. “Meanwhile, Trump keeps finding new ways to personally cash in on his own presidency, using the office to enrich himself, his family, and his friends while the people who elected him fall further behind. He has made no real effort to deliver on his promises, and families are the ones paying for his indifference.”
Published: Aug 12, 2026