A new report from The Century Foundation (TCF) reveals that vast swaths of Americans are struggling financially and are deeply anxious about their economic situation—leading many to turn to risky financial products and practices to afford the basics, such as paying bills on credit cards, accumulating debt, tapping into savings, and even skipping meals. The report, based on a June survey of 2,007 voters, shows that a majority blame Donald Trump, billionaires, and corporations for driving up costs and making life harder, with overwhelming numbers wanting the government to rein in corporate power, help workers, and tax the wealthy.
“American families are not okay in Donald Trump’s economy. Faced with high prices and increasing costs of living, working people are struggling to afford the basics, pay their bills, and simply stay afloat as Trump and Republicans take a wrecking ball to their economic futures,” said Century Foundation President and report co-author Julie Margetta Morgan. “As the Trump administration tears down America’s safety net, families are increasingly being forced to build their own safety nets out of high-cost financial products. The result will be a crisis of household debt that puts us all at risk.”
Topline Findings
1. Financial insecurity is widespread and consuming, with 61% of Americans saying Donald Trump has made their cost of living worse since taking office.
- More than 4 in 5 (83%) are concerned about the cost of groceries, with 63% saying President Trump has negatively impacted grocery prices. Only 29% say he’s had a positive impact.
- Nearly 8 in 10 (79%), including more than two-thirds of Republicans (68%), are concerned that Trump’s tariffs will raise prices on everyday goods like clothing and appliances.
- More than three-quarters (76%) are concerned about a possible recession, and nearly 6 in 10 (58%) worry they won’t be able to afford health care if a recession hits.
- Nearly half (48%) would have difficulty paying an unexpected $500 bill without borrowing money, including 61% of Black, 57% of Hispanic, and 56% of Millennial Americans.
- Roughly 1 in 4 (24%) spend at least three hours per day worrying about their ability to afford the basics, with more than 4 in 10 spending at least one hour each day stressed about finances.
2. To manage the high cost of living, Americans are turning to debt and other risky financial products and practices to get by.
- In the last year, 41% say they or someone in their household has tapped into savings to pay the bills, 37% have paid bills with a credit card, and 29% have taken on debt to cover basics.
- Nearly half of Millennials (50%), Hispanics (48%), and Black respondents (47%) said they have dipped into savings to pay their bills in the past year.
- One in four Americans say they or someone in their household has skipped meals to save money in the last 12 months.
3. It’s not just groceries and gas: Americans feel like the building blocks of a comfortable life are increasingly unaffordable and out of reach.
- Nearly 3 in 4 (73%) think it’s gotten harder for the average American to buy a home in the last 25 years, 72% think it’s harder to pay for college, 69% think it’s harder to find affordable child care and raise a family, and 65% think it’s harder to pay the bills.
- A majority blame corporations (51%) and billionaires (52%) for making life harder, with 50% placing blame on congressional Republicans. Very few think corporations (20%) and billionaires (14%) have made life easier.
4. Americans think corporations and the wealthy are the biggest obstacles to getting stuff done—and they want government leaders to rein in unchecked corporate power.
- A majority (51%) believe the biggest barrier keeping our country from finishing projects is too much influence from corporations and billionaires, while a smaller share (33%) think it is too much bureaucratic red tape and regulations on the books.
- Broad, bipartisan majorities want the federal government to prioritize holding companies accountable for inflating the price of prescription drugs (81%), strengthening regulations to prevent businesses from ripping off consumers (80%), and prosecuting companies that work together to raise prices on consumers (78%).
- More than 3 in 4 want the government to prioritize helping workers who have their wages stolen (78%) and taxing the wealthy and corporations (76%).
“The challenges facing America’s families today extend far beyond the price of groceries and gas to the very foundations of a decent, comfortable life—including one’s ability to buy a home, raise a family, and afford college and child care,” said report co-author and TCF Senior Fellow Rachel West. “Americans recognize that their lives have gotten harder because corporations and the wealthy have seen their power and profits explode, and they overwhelmingly want the government to take more aggressive steps to rebalance the economic scales in favor of working people, not the ultra-rich.”
Tags: us economy, polling, donald trump
TCF’s New Report Reveals the Hidden Costs of President Trump’s Economy
A new report from The Century Foundation (TCF) reveals that vast swaths of Americans are struggling financially and are deeply anxious about their economic situation—leading many to turn to risky financial products and practices to afford the basics, such as paying bills on credit cards, accumulating debt, tapping into savings, and even skipping meals. The report, based on a June survey of 2,007 voters, shows that a majority blame Donald Trump, billionaires, and corporations for driving up costs and making life harder, with overwhelming numbers wanting the government to rein in corporate power, help workers, and tax the wealthy.
“American families are not okay in Donald Trump’s economy. Faced with high prices and increasing costs of living, working people are struggling to afford the basics, pay their bills, and simply stay afloat as Trump and Republicans take a wrecking ball to their economic futures,” said Century Foundation President and report co-author Julie Margetta Morgan. “As the Trump administration tears down America’s safety net, families are increasingly being forced to build their own safety nets out of high-cost financial products. The result will be a crisis of household debt that puts us all at risk.”
Topline Findings
1. Financial insecurity is widespread and consuming, with 61% of Americans saying Donald Trump has made their cost of living worse since taking office.
2. To manage the high cost of living, Americans are turning to debt and other risky financial products and practices to get by.
3. It’s not just groceries and gas: Americans feel like the building blocks of a comfortable life are increasingly unaffordable and out of reach.
4. Americans think corporations and the wealthy are the biggest obstacles to getting stuff done—and they want government leaders to rein in unchecked corporate power.
“The challenges facing America’s families today extend far beyond the price of groceries and gas to the very foundations of a decent, comfortable life—including one’s ability to buy a home, raise a family, and afford college and child care,” said report co-author and TCF Senior Fellow Rachel West. “Americans recognize that their lives have gotten harder because corporations and the wealthy have seen their power and profits explode, and they overwhelmingly want the government to take more aggressive steps to rebalance the economic scales in favor of working people, not the ultra-rich.”
Tags: us economy, polling, donald trump