Cost of Living crisis

Under Trump, Inflation Is Costing Average US Family $700 More Per Month

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Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

A Doral, Florida resident checks out at a Walmart on October 10, 2025. (Photo by Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

“While President Trump claimed that he would bring down prices, the reality is that Americans have seen their costs soar even higher since he took office.”

Democrats on the congressional Joint Economic Committee released a report Thursday detailing how much more the average American family in every US state is having to spend monthly to cover the rising costs of food, shelter, energy, and other necessities under the leadership of President Donald Trump.

The panel released its report on the same day the Trump administration was supposed to publish the October Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. The closely watched CPI report was delayed by the shutdown, and the Trump White House said Wednesday that it’s likely the figures will never be released.

Deploying the same methodology that Republicans used to track cost increases under former President Joe Biden, JEC Democrats found that the average US family is spending roughly $700 more per month on basic items since Trump took office in January, pledging to bring prices “way down.”

“While President Trump claimed that he would bring down prices, the reality is that Americans have seen their costs soar even higher since he took office,” said Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), the JEC’s ranking member. “As families across the country spend more to pay their bills and put food on the table, Democrats and Republicans should be working together to lower costs. Instead, President Trump is pushing ahead with reckless tariffs that continue to fuel inflation and drive prices up even higher.”

In some states—including Alaska, California, and Colorado—average families are spending over $1,000 more per month to maintain their living standards as costs continue to rise, in part due to Trump’s erratic tariff regime.

The report’s findings run directly counter to Trump’s triumphant rhetoric on inflation and the US economy more broadly.

CNN‘s Daniel Dale noted earlier this week that Trump has been on a “lying spree about inflation,” falsely claiming that “every price is down” and that “everybody knows that it’s far less expensive under Trump than it was under Sleepy Joe Biden.”

“None of that is true,” Dale wrote. “Prices are up during this administration. Average prices were 1.7% higher in September than they were in January, according to the most recent figures from the federal Consumer Price Index, and 3% higher than they were in September 2024. There has been inflation every month of the term, and far more products have gotten costlier than cheaper.”

“Inflation not only very much continues to exist but has been accelerating since the spring,” Dale added. “As of September, the year-over-year inflation rate had increased for five consecutive months.”

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes' concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country's economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.


‘Trump Is Making Your Life More Expensive’: Tariff Chaos Engulfs US Economy ›

Continue ReadingUnder Trump, Inflation Is Costing Average US Family $700 More Per Month

Right-wing in panic as socialist Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayoralty

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Original article by Natalia Marques republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Zohran Mamdani votes on November 4 with his wife, Rama Duwaji (Photo via @ZohranKMamdani)

Cuomo concedes and conservatives lash out in fury; A rattled right-wing political class confronts a new era in New York, and the United States

Socialist Zohran Mamdani became the mayor-elect of New York City on November 4, winning with just over 50% of the vote (at the time of this writing, 93% of votes have been counted). Former governor Andrew Cuomo, who had already lost to Mamdani in the June Democratic Party primary, received 41.6% of the vote. Republican Party candidate Curtis Sliwa received just over 7% of the vote. Mamdani’s win was called by the Associated Press less than an hour after polls closed in New York City on November 4.

Thanking billionaire ex-mayor and campaign donor Michael Bloomberg, disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo conceded defeat to upstart socialist Zohran Mamdani. 

“This campaign was to contest the philosophies that are shaping the Democratic Party, the future of this city, and the future of this country,” Cuomo outlined at his election-night party in Midtown Manhattan. Cuomo warned that “we are heading down a dangerous, dangerous road,” preaching against divisiveness, despite being attacked by progressives for running racist advertisements against his opponent. 

“Congratulations to Zohran Mandami,” Cuomo said, in his characteristic mispronunciation of the mayor-elect’s name. 

In Mamdani’s own victory speech, the socialist mayor-elect was not shy to call out Cuomo directly. “I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life. But let tonight be the final time I utter his name, as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few,” Mamdani said, addressing the crowd at his watch party at the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre in downtown Brooklyn.

Mamdani also addressed Trump in his speech: “Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.”

Right-wing racism in full swing

Reactions from notorious right-wing figures poured in immediately. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, a conservative embroiled in scandal alongside Trump for alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, said live on NEWSMAX that Mamdani’s win “breaks my heart.”

“Forget that he’s a communist,” Giuliani asserted. “He’s also a supporter of extremist Islamic terrorism.”

The Trump administration reacted with similar levels of malice and racism. Top Trump advisor Stephen Miller, and architect of Trump’s immigration policy, tweeted out a photo with no context at 10:08 pm on election night. The photo was a screenshot of a page on the official New York City government website, describing how “almost 50 percent of New Yorkers live in family households with at least one immigrant” – a post which could be seen to imply that immigration, legal or otherwise, are contributing to the problems that conservatives like Miller see with the recent election outcome. Such an assertion comes only weeks after a high-profile ICE raid in New York City’s Chinatown generated outrage nationwide. 

Trump issued a slew of posts on his social media platform, Truth Social, leading up to Mamdani’s victory, condemning the socialist candidate and issuing a reluctant endorsement to former political rival Andrew Cuomo. The following day, however, Trump’s only possible reference to Mamdani was an anniversary post celebrating his own electoral win last year, in which he referenced that “Affordability is our goal.” Mamdani had made the sky-high cost of living in New York City the centerpiece of his platform.

Democratic establishment issues lukewarm response

Some establishment Democrats have thus far issued no statement on Mamdani’s victory at all. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, a Brooklyn resident and the Senator from Mamdani’s own state of New York put out a short statement congratulating Mamdani on his win and saying he looks forward to working with the new mayor-elect. Notably, he did not state who he voted for and never formally endorsed Mamdani during the race. 

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a last-minute endorsement of Mamdani on October 24 after repeatedly dodging press questions on the issue. Following Mamdani’s victory, Jeffries issued no direct congratulations, only a vague statement that “Donald Trump and Republicans haven’t done a damn thing to lower the high cost of living” and that “working class Americans know it.”

Original article by Natalia Marques republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingRight-wing in panic as socialist Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayoralty

Cutting home insulation funding will imperil UK’s climate goals, Reeves told

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/08/cutting-home-insulation-funding-imperil-uk-climate-goals-reeves-told

In a letter to the chancellor, more than 60 groups and companies said slashing funding for energy-efficient homes would be a damaging ‘short-term fix’. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

Energy firms and charities urge chancellor to avoid short-term fix that could also harm low-income households

Rachel Reeves has been told that cutting funding for home insulation at the budget would risk the UK’s climate goals and hurt low-income households in a joint intervention by energy firms, fuel poverty charities and environmental groups.

In a letter to the chancellor, more than 60 groups and companies urged Reeves not to take such a damaging “short-term fix” to slash funding for more energy-efficient homes to pay for a reduction in energy bills.

The Guardian revealed this week that Reeves is finalising a multibillion-pound energy support package that is likely to cut green levies paying for energy efficiency as she looks to save as much as £170 from the average bill.

In particular, the Treasury has been looking at cutting or getting rid of the energy company obligation (ECO), which pays to improve energy efficiency for low-income and vulnerable households.

In their letter, the dozens of organisations – from Age UK and Citizens Advice to Friends of the Earth – called for the Treasury to reconsider cuts to the ECO programme, saying it would “call into question the ability to meet both the UK’s fuel poverty and carbon budget targets”. They also warned that it was putting thousands of jobs at risk in the £20bn energy efficiency industry and supply chain.

…

Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/08/cutting-home-insulation-funding-imperil-uk-climate-goals-reeves-told

Continue ReadingCutting home insulation funding will imperil UK’s climate goals, Reeves told

‘National disgrace’: children living in temporary accommodation hits record high

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/national-disgrace-children-living-temporary-accommodation-hits-record-high

A baby playing with toys at home in Northamptonshire, August 4, 2023

Chancellor urged to unfreeze housing benefit and publish government’s long-delayed homelessness strategy as figures show  more than 172,000 children are growing up in temporary accommodation

A NEW record high of more than 172,000 children are living in temporary accommodation in England, almost enough to fill Wembley Stadium twice over, new government figures revealed today.

Official data shows numbers have risen in each quarter since 2021, reaching 132,410 households in temporary accommodation as of the end of June.

This is up 1.2 per cent from the previous three-month period and 7.6 per cent from the same time last year.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said 84,240 of those households included children.

Separate government data showed 8,732 people were sleeping rough in England in June, up from 8,309 a year earlier.

Campaigners are urging Chancellor Rachel Reeves to unfreeze housing benefit in next month’s Budget and to publish the government’s long-delayed homelessness strategy.

Crisis chief executive Matt Downie said: “Tragically, we have now become totally accustomed to seeing record levels of children growing up in temporary accommodation. 

“So we have to ask, as living costs increase and the supply of social homes recedes, when this will end?”

He said raising housing benefit “would enable more people and families to stay in their homes” and called for “a new generation of social homes” to help families “escape poverty and see a brighter future.”

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/national-disgrace-children-living-temporary-accommodation-hits-record-high

Keir Starmer says pensioners can freeze to death and poor children can starve and be condemned to failure and misery all their lives.
Keir Starmer says pensioners can freeze to death and poor children can starve and be condemned to failure and misery all their lives.

One in five families trapped in temporary accommodation for over five years, new figures show

New figures released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show that one in five families with children living in temporary accommodation in England, and one in three in London, have been there for five years or longer.

The data shows a record 172,420 children are now living in temporary accommodation. Much of this housing is overcrowded and lacks basic facilities such as kitchens and laundry access.

Campaigners warn that these conditions have serious impacts on children’s health and wellbeing, with at least 74 child deaths linked to temporary accommodation over the past five years.

Housing groups say rising rents are trapping families in temporary accommodation, as Local Housing Allowance has failed to keep pace with the private rental market.

ONS data shows that average private rents have risen by 8.5% since April 2024, when housing benefit rates were last updated.

The shortfall is placing severe pressure on local councils, which are spending millions each year either on temporary accommodation itself or incentive payments to landlords to take on homeless tenants.

London Councils has warned that several boroughs are at risk of bankruptcy due to escalating costs.

Tom Darling, director at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “The fact that one in five homeless families have been trapped in temporary accommodation for five years or more is a moral stain on society.

“TA barely merits the term accommodation. Cramped, unhealthy and lacking facilities, it is totally unsuitable for families with children, particularly for long periods of time.”

He added: “The Renters’ Rights Bill will deliver welcome protections for tenants, but it will not address the affordability crisis that is keeping families trapped in homelessness and pushing councils to the brink of bankruptcy.

“The Government must cap rent increases to stop rents from outpacing wages or inflation, and in the longer term we need a National Affordable Renting Commission to make renting genuinely affordable.”

…

Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership all feel a small part of Scunthorpe.
Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership all feel a small part of Scunthorpe.
Continue Reading‘National disgrace’: children living in temporary accommodation hits record high

140,000 march in Brussels against austerity

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Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Source: Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA)

Around 140,000 people joined trade union protests in Brussels, opposing austerity measures planned by Bart De Wever’s administration.

Approximately 140,000 people took to the streets of Brussels on October 14, 2025, answering the call of Belgium’s trade unions to oppose the austerity plans of Bart De Wever’s government. Demonstrators arrived from across the country, making this one of the largest labor mobilizations in years.

“People came from all over Belgium, from all walks of life: workers, employees from both the public and private sectors, from all the professions that keep society running,” said Peter Mertens, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA). “A total of 140,000 people who are fed up with this government’s social destruction.”

Prime Minister De Wever’s administration has pressed ahead with plans to cut workplace protections and freeze income while increasing military spending, including the purchase of new F-35 fighter jets. “With its summer agreement, the government is further reducing social security, social rights, and purchasing power, and therefore the future prospects of the population,” said the trade union FGTB-ABVV. “On the other hand, it has found money to buy more drones and warplanes.”

Read more: Belgians to government: “We won’t sacrifice pensions for warplanes”

Trade unions and the PTB-PVDA have warned that certain groups of workers will be hit hardest by the reforms – particularly women, who risk being penalized for taking maternity leave if they cannot produce the required documentation. “The government intends to deliberately steal from thousands of women who took maternity leave before 2003,” FGTB-ABVV activists wrote in Syndicats Magazine. “These women will bear the ‘burden of proof’ for this leave. Otherwise, what? Their maternity leave will simply not be counted in their pension calculations. This is a discriminatory choice, and a deliberate one. It shows a total lack of respect.”

Feminists against Arizona coalition. Source: Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA)

But all workers are expected to suffer under the new wave of austerity: younger employees will face weaker protections on night work, while those retired or nearing retirement could see their pensions slashed. “Figures from the Federal Pension Service show that 30% of people – 70% of whom are women – will lose an average of 318 euros per month. That’s a third of their pension,” said Thierry Bodson, head of the FGTB-ABVV, in a recent interview. “For many, that automatically means falling below the poverty line.”

“Investing in weapons and cutting back on pensions is a political choice,” Mertens explained ahead of the protest. “By 2070, pension spending would rise by 2% of GDP, which the Reformist Movement (Mouvement réformateur) claims is impossible [to fund]. Yet increasing defense budgets by 2% over ten years is entirely possible for them.”

Read more: World Bank acknowledges poverty increase in Nigeria, but doubles down on the reforms causing it

The government has attempted to dismiss the unions’ and the left’s analyses but largely failed to do so, only managing to offer vague assurances that pensions would not be cut and protections would be preserved. “All these distortions, half-truths, and blatant lies prove one thing: the government is under pressure,” Mertens said.

“What we feel today is incredible energy, collective pride, and great determination,” he added on the day of the demonstration. “More and more people are realizing: together, we can make the government back down. Together, we can win.”

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue Reading140,000 march in Brussels against austerity