Groundwork’s Jacquez on February CPI Report: “President Trump Has Us Barreling Toward a Recession”
March 12, 2025
Groundwork’s Jacquez on February CPI Report: “President Trump Has Us Barreling Toward a Recession”
Groundwork also released a new poll with Data for Progress ranking the price increases Americans find most frustrating; groceries come out on top
Today, the February Consumer Price Index showed that inflation ticked down to 2.8% year-over-year, with prices rising by 0.2% in February – housing costs continued to rise last month. Groundwork Collaborative’s Chief of Policy and Advocacy Alex Jacquez reacted to the latest inflation data:
“While families are still struggling to put food on the table and a roof over their head, the Administration’s response is that they should raise their own chickens in their backyards. Every economic indicator suggests that President Trump has us barreling toward a recession and stagflation. But instead of trying to lower the cost of living, he’s doubling down on his plans to give massive tax breaks to billionaires and giant corporations.”
Groundwork Collaborative and Data for Progress also released a new poll today on what price increases voters find most frustrating. Addressing the cost of living remains a high priority for Americans. The polling found that grocery prices are far and away the top concern for families, followed by utilities, health care costs, and rent and mortgage. Polling toplines are below.
Email press@groundworkcollaborative.org to speak with a Groundwork expert about rising prices and President Trump’s handling of the economy.
TOPLINES
- Voters are most worried about rising grocery prices. This is consistent across party lines.
- Increases in utility bills, like electricity, gas, and water, ranked second on voters’ list of concerns. Again, this is consistent across party lines.
- How the Trump Administration is raising energy bills: Trump has illegally frozen billions of dollars in funding for clean energy projects and his Republican allies in Congress are working to roll back key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which would lower utility costs in the long term by reducing reliance on volatile fossil fuels. The IRA also tackles the climate crisis, which has driven extreme weather and contributed to soaring energy prices.
- Out-of-pocket health care costs, like co-pays and deductibles, and health insurance premiums are also a top priority for voters.
- How the Trump Administration is destroying affordable health care: Trump spent his first term relentlessly attacking the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and now, he and his Republican allies in Congress are gearing up for even deeper cuts. They’re pushing to gut Medicaid and Medicare, limit ACA enrollment, and reinstate burdensome work requirements that kick people off their health care. These policies would drive up costs, leave more people uninsured, and make it even harder for families to afford basic medical care.
- Voters are also worried about rising housing costs. Black and Latino respondents and voters under 45 were particularly concerned by rent and mortgages going up.
- How the Trump Administration is increasing housing costs: Trump’s threat of new tariffs risks making the housing crisis worse. By driving up the cost of construction materials, his trade war with Canada could shrink the supply of new housing, keeping overall prices high. That, in turn, forces the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates elevated, making mortgages more expensive. Rather than offering real solutions to lower housing costs, Trump’s policies risk inflating them—limiting supply, keeping borrowing costs high, and failing to go after corporate landlords that unfairly price gouge families.
