Rising costs, cuts to basic programs and expiring health subsidies are leaving working- and middle-class Americans feeling poorer, not stronger.
In his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump opened by boasting about a roaring economy, falling inflation and a richer and stronger nation. But those claims ring hollow for many Americans who feel economic security slipping further out of reach—a reality made worse by the policies he and his Republican Congress have championed.
Nearly two-thirds of voters say the basics of life are less affordable than they were a year ago, and six in 10 Americans think the country is worse off than it was a year ago—a stark rebuke to the triumph he tried to project.
Inside the chamber, unsurprisingly, the president received rounds of thunderous applause from his Republican majorities. They have stood with him in support of sweeping tariffs, cuts to basic needs programs and refusing to extend financial assistance that helps tens of millions of Americans afford health insurance—all while further tilting an already-rigged tax code in favor of corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
Outside the chamber, our economy feels less like a powerhouse and more like a car running on fumes. It moves forward only because the people inside are rationing what little fuel remains. The stories I hear from working- and middle-class families about how they’re faring are alarming—and directly contradict the president’s rhetoric.
The Impacts of Trump 2.0
Arizona
In Tucson, Ariz., Angelica Garcia begins most mornings waiting for her Lyft app to ping. She’s a driver raising three children in a two-bedroom apartment that costs $1,400 a month. Her summer electric bills hover around $300. At the grocery store, it costs her over $100 just to cover basic essentials.
Her families’ meals reflect the math. “We do potatoes. Chili. Bean burritos. Fried macaroni. Fideló,” she says. “We haven’t bought much meat.” Cage-free eggs and fresh bread are gone.
Small comforts are gone, too—movies, extracurriculars, new clothes, perfume, even Christmas presents. Angelica and her children also rely on Medicaid and SNAP. Medicaid covered her daughter’s broken arm and her son’s tonsil surgery. “It’s been a blessing. A godsend,” she says.
In Washington, these cuts are framed as a matter of discipline. But in Angelica’s kitchen, they translate into less substantial meals and harder conversations.
But her representative in Congress, Juan Ciscomani (R), voted to cut Medicaid and SNAP and to impose new work requirements. Angelica already works, but her income fluctuates with ride requests and car repairs. Her unpredictable work hours mean it isn’t always possible for her to meet the new work requirements. Without Medicaid, she would have to delay doctor visits. And without SNAP? “I’d be eating a loaf of bread for dinner.”
In Washington, D.C., these cuts are framed as a matter of discipline. But in Angelica’s kitchen, they translate into less substantial meals and harder conversations—less meat, less eggs, fewer small joys that make childhood memorable. The savings carved from her grocery cart help Republican lawmakers offset some of the revenue lost to tax breaks enriching corporations and people with multimillion-dollar inheritances.
Iowa
Meanwhile, in Iowa, a retired woman named Jill is enrolled in a Marketplace healthcare plan that once cost her $75 a month thanks to enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. But when Republicans voted against extending those subsidies, her premium jumped to nearly $800 a month.
Her representative in Congress, Marianette Miller-Meeks (R), voted to let those subsidies expire. For Jill, she said that means putting things back at the grocery store and making smaller meals, layering and blankets instead of turning up the heat, and foregoing medical care in case she can’t afford a prescription.
Wisconsin
In Eau Claire, Wis., Erin Klaus has spent 17 years building up and running her small business. Right now, she’s seeing around the same number of transactions as previous years, but she said the dollar amount her customers are spending is dropping fast. Tariffs have nearly doubled the cost of some apparel she uses for screen printing. She hasn’t raised prices on her customers any more because she’s afraid if she does, she’ll run herself out of business.
Erin’s representative in Congress, Derrick Van Orden (R), voted to protect Trump’s tariffs—tariffs that made small businesses like hers pay upfront, even as multinational corporations are better positioned to shift supply chains or pass along costs.
In Washington, tariffs are marketed as toughness. On Main Street, they reward the largest players’ resilience while testing the survival of independent businesses.
Even though the Supreme Court recently struck down tariffs, American businesses and consumers—not other countries—have already paid nearly 90 percent of the bill. And now, instead of relief, Trump has moved to raise global tariffs by another 15 percent. If made permanent, those could increase costs for U.S. households by $1,300 on average.
The throughline between Angelica, Jill and Erin’s experiences is unmistakable. Our economy isn’t “roaring like never before” as the president put it. It’s straining working- and middle-class families who feel squeezed as the American Dream drifts further out of reach.
Milestones that once defined stability, like buying a first home, are slipping away, with the median age of a first-time buyer age rising to 40 in 2025—the highest on record, and a sharp jump from age 31 in 2014.
Even the long-term optimism Americans are taught to carry is eroding: 51 percent now believe their children will be worse off financially than they are.
People are not okay. The lawmakers who champion this agenda aren’t exercising courage; they’re abandoning working families, sending risk downward, while reward continues to flow up.
The president spoke about prosperity for all Americans, but prosperity isn’t measured by how forcefully policies are defended from a podium. It’s measured by the extent to which ordinary Americans can meet their basic needs without dismantling their lives in the process. A broken arm should be an injury, not a financial crisis. Retirement should mean recuperation, not rationing. A tariff announcement should be a headline, not a threat to local businesses. When elected officials bend toward a president and away from their constituents—shielding wealth for the rich while trimming the margins for everyone else—the weakness compounds, both economic and political.
Resilience is visible in American households like those of Angelica, Jill and Erin, but prosperity is not. And loyalty to power is not leadership, it’s corruption. A strong country demands lawmakers who will fight for everyday Americans, instead of backing policies that force us to make sacrifices so corporations and the wealthiest among us have it even easier.
