‘There Is NO INFLATION’: Trump Declares Victory Over Rising Prices, But Harvard Study Reveals What’s Really Happening To Your Wallet

More than three in four Americans now say the U.S. economy is poor as they deal with higher prices for everyday items. From groceries and medicine to furniture and electronics, costs have gone up a lot during President Trump’s first 10 months back in office. Many people are having a hard time paying bills that used to be easy to handle.

Families across the country are feeling the pressure too. A survey found that 40 percent of Americans have dipped into their savings to buy basic necessities, while 37 percent have started using credit cards and taking on debt. Things have gotten so tough that 25 percent of people say they or someone in their household has skipped a meal to save money in the last 10 months.

According to The Hill, last month, Trump said that “There is NO INFLATION” and everything was back to normal. But new research from the Harvard Business School Pricing Lab tells a different story. The study looked at how Trump’s tariffs changed prices and found that both imported and American-made products became more expensive.

Those Tariffs Are Hitting Everyone’s Wallet Harder Than Expected

Alberto Cavallo, who started the HBS Pricing Lab, found that Trump’s tariffs made everything cost more. Products made in America went up by about half as much as imports, but all kinds of goods saw price increases. The study also checked whether foreign companies were paying the tariff costs, like Trump said they would.

The data showed they were not. Cavallo explained that import price data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was not going down. “In fact, they’ve actually increased. So that suggests foreign exporters are not lowering their export prices,” he said. This means American shoppers are the ones paying for the tariffs.

The tariffs have hurt many products. New fees will push furniture, cabinetry, and lumber prices up by as much as 50 percent. Food basics like beef and orange juice have gone up more than 10 percent compared to last year. Trump’s tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico are expected to drive costs even higher in the coming months. 

Even eating out has gotten much more expensive. The National Restaurant Association now says restaurants will need to raise prices by over 30 percent just to keep making the same profit. For 70 percent of households, costs have gone up so much that they now have trouble paying their bills. Wages have not kept up with rising prices. So many Americans feel poorer than they did a year ago. What Trump called a golden age feels more like a money struggle for millions of families trying to get by.