In the News

On any given day, Groundwork's analyses, op-eds, reports, and commentary are featured in leading publications and on the most influential news programs and podcasts.

Mention

Democrats Propose Ban On Surveillance Pricing In Grocery Stores

An analysis last year by the nonprofits Consumer Reports and More Perfect Union and the progressive policy group Groundwork Collaborative found that prices for Instacart shoppers varied by as much as 23% for the same product at the same exact time in different stores.

February 12, 2026 Huffpost
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Donald Trump hails unexpectedly strong jobs data, despite troubling backdrop

“President Trump promised a jobs boom, but today’s data shows the economy is shedding jobs outside a small number of sectors, and more Americans are struggling to find stable work,” said Groundwork Collaborative, a left-leaning campaign group in Washington.

February 12, 2026 Financial Times
Press Release

Cupid Picks Your Pocket: Valentine’s Staples Up More Than 15% This Year

Report finds Trump’s policies have driven up prices for Americans looking to share the love.

February 11, 2026 Groundwork Collaborative
Press Release

Revised Data Paints a Grim Picture of 2025 Jobs Market

Today’s delayed report shows the United States added even fewer jobs in 2025 than previously reported.

February 11, 2026 Groundwork Collaborative
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How Companies Profit by Annoying the Hell Out of You

These kinds of experiences are so common and universal that Groundwork Collaborative, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C., decided to weigh their true impact. They call it the “annoyance economy.” In a report released Monday, they show how junk fees, customer service calls, excessive insurance paperwork, spam calls and texts, and more cost Americans at least $165 billion in lost time and money every year.

February 10, 2026 The New Republic
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A.I. Is Giving You a Personalized Internet, but You Have No Say in It

Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, a nonprofit that focuses on economic issues, called Google’s A.I. shopping framework an example of “surveillance capitalism” that could eventually be used to goad people into spending more.

February 10, 2026 The New York Times
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Consumers feared a Trump tariff inflation crisis. Where is it?

"That’s a pretty big difference," said Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy at the left-leaning Groundwork Collaborative nonprofit, speaking to USA TODAY in December.

February 10, 2026 USA Today
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Proposed Ban on Investors in the Housing Market Hits a Wall in Congress

But the White House hasn’t backed down on the proposal, which polls well with young adult voters frustrated with housing costs. A recent survey by left-leaning Groundwork Collaborative and Data for Progress found that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the way to lower housing costs is through regulating corporate landlords and institutional investors.

February 9, 2026 The Wall Street Journal
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America’s Annoyance Economy Is Growing

“Companies have worked really hard to make it easy for you” to spend, Lindsay Owens, the executive director of Groundwork, told me. “Of course, when it comes to trying to get out of a purchase or out of a subscription, the same design choices are flipped and reversed.” She likened digital consumer platforms to Las Vegas casinos. Designers create colorful playgrounds with flashing lights and free drinks and chandeliers and mirrors and water features, where gamblers never know what time it is and never see a path to the exit.

February 9, 2026 The Atlantic
Press Release

Hidden Fees and Wasted Time: New Report Shows the ‘Annoyance Economy’ Costs Americans $165 Billion a Year

Americans lose over $32 billion annually to spam and robocalls, $90 billion to junk fees, and $41 billion to calls with health insurance companies and waiting for medical services.

February 9, 2026 Groundwork Collaborative
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