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Today, Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation released new analysis showing how President Trump’s economic policies are driving up prices for Halloween’s most coveted items.
Overall, candy is 10.8% more expensive this Halloween season than last year, according to an analysis of NielsenIQ data conducted by progressive think tank Groundwork Collaborative and shared first with CNN. That’s nearly quadruple the overall rate of inflation.
Inflation remains stubbornly high and shows no sign of easing, leaving families paying more each month for essentials while triple-digit health care premium hikes loom for millions of families.
A consistent trend across the country is that rising health care costs are putting pressure on both businesses and families and that the labor market is weakened.
Higher health care costs could add to the financial squeeze felt by many families, who are already coping with higher grocery, utility and housing prices, noted Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative. "You can't really go without health care, so something else will have to give," Owens said. That could mean cutting "a family vacation, a family trip to a soccer game, or putting groceries on the credit card so you can clear the health care premiums."
“This isn’t just an inequality story — it’s a macroeconomic story,” said Lindsay Owens. “As the wealthy continue to consume, that’s masking more and more insecurity and instability in the economy under the hood.”
"Today’s young adults are being squeezed from every direction," said Lindsay Owens, "Rent and mortgages are increasingly out of reach, student loan payments swallow much of their paychecks, and corporate profiteering has pushed prices even higher on top of already punishing inflation. For Gen Z, these barriers are especially steep."