Recently, I overhauled my expenses. All that could be cut got cut. Car insurance, internet provider, phone service. Everything I could. But at the rate things are going, whatever savings I gain will be out the window soon enough, as the price of groceries keeps going up.
I’m worried and apparently, I’m not alone.
The Associated Press ran a survey showing that a vast majority of Americans are at least a little worried about the ever-increasing price of groceries. Half said it was a “major stress” while a third said it was “minor.” Only 14 percent said the cost of essentials is no concern at all.
The poor are hit hardest.
According to the AP, “64 percent of the lowest-income Americans — those who have a household income of less than $30,000 a year — say the cost of groceries is a ‘major’ stressor. That’s compared with about 4 in 10 Americans who have a household income of $100,000 or more.”
But, the AP said, “everyone is stressed. Even within that higher-income group, only about two in 10 say grocery costs aren’t a worry at all.”
Count me among that number.
Groceries are in my top three monthly expenses, after rent and health insurance. Matter of fact, I pay more for food than I do for the business expenses that are needed to publish this humble newsletter. And thanks to the president’s “erratic” and “radical” tariffs, the price of pretty much everything, not just food and necessities, is getting worse.
Companies that make stuff overseas and bring it to our shelves say they are forced to raise prices in order to offset the cost of Trump’s tariff. CNBC reported that Procter & Gamble, which makes every household item you can think of, “expects ‘mid-single-digit price increases’ on a wide range of products over the next quarter to help offset what it projects to be a $1 billion hit from the tariffs levied against major trading partners, such as Canada and China.”
Other companies are gouging us under cover of tariffs.
A progressive advocacy group called Groundwork Collaborative recently released a new study on what corporate heads are telling investors in earnings reports. The CEO of Generac Power Systems, for instance, said on an earnings call that “even if we have metals that weren’t impacted directly by tariffs, the indirect effect of tariffs is that it gives steel producers and the mills and other fabricators … great cover for increased pricing in some cases,” according to Raw Story.
The report blames the president, too. “President Trump’s turbulent trade policy has created a perfect storm of market chaos, giving corporations a golden opportunity to jack up prices, pad profit margins, and fleece Americans simply because they can. While Trump’s tariffs continue to cause economic upheaval, corporations are exploiting the chaos and working families are left to foot the bill.”
If you think coffee and bananas are expensive, just wait.
“In 2024, the US imported about $221 billion in food products, 74 percent of which ($163 billion) faced the Trump tariffs,” the Tax Foundation said in a separate report, according to Raw Story. “While these imports currently face tariff rates ranging from 10 percent to 30 percent, they will exceed 30percent for some countries if the reciprocal tariffs go into effect on August 1. The top five exporters of food products to the U.S., in order, are Mexico, Canada, the EU, Brazil, and China, accounting for 62 percent of total US food imports.”
Then there’s the effect of Trump’s tariffs on employment. Friday’s report showed only 73,000 jobs were added to the economy, far less than the 115,000 that were expected. The cause of the downturn is so clear and obvious the AP used the words “erratic” and “radical” to describe it. “US hiring is slowing sharply as President Donald Trump’s erratic and radical trade policies paralyze businesses and raise doubts about the outlook for the world’s largest economy” (my italics).
Let’s not forget that the president and the Republicans changed the rules fundamentally so that people who lose their jobs – thanks to Trump’s tariffs – but still have to pay high prices for groceries – thanks to Trump’s tariffs – won’t have much safety net to catch them. Their “One Big Beautiful Bill” forces states to cover more costs while adding ridiculous “work requirements,” something that makes no sense when the reason you need food stamps is because you’re out of work.
Put this all together and you have a picture of a situation that’s either reaching a breaking point or is already there. In any case, it’s not sustainable when prices keep going up but the president shoots the messenger rather than deal with the message. It’s not sustainable when a giant sales tax – that’s what tariffs are – forces people out of their jobs only to face policies (on SNAP benefits) that prevent them from getting by. It’s not sustainable when grievances pile up but GOP judges reduce the avenues for expressing them at the ballot box.
Something’s got to give.
Only question is when.