Groundwork Collaborative

Working families are being crushed by rising costs, and they’re demanding action!

Join us, @localprogress.bsky.social, and @groundwork.bsky.social for a deep discussion on how state & local leaders can take bold action to lower costs.

🗓️ Dec 8 | ⏰ 1 PM ET
🔗 Register: six.community/affordability

Consumers Feeling Less Than Jolly, Pulling Back on Holiday Shopping as Prices Rise and Confidence Plummets - Groundwork Collaborative

Trump’s economy is in free fall & working families know it.

🏦 72% of Americans expect Trump’s tariffs to make 2025 the most expensive holiday season yet

🚫🛍️ 56% are cutting back on gifts just to pay the bills

😟 68% say the holidays now feel more financially stressful than joyful

Where the blame will fall if ACA subsidies expire, according to a new poll A new survey of Affordable Care Act health insurance enrollees finds that many are already struggling with the high cost of health care.

“52-year old Dinam Bigny sank into debt… because of health insurance premiums that cost him nearly $900 per month.”

Dinam’s health care prices are set to rise by another $200 per month thanks to Republicans’ health care cuts.

Trump’s Approval Rating Dips as Views of His Handling of the Economy Sour

Looks like folks don’t like being told that rising prices on everything from groceries to health care is a “con job” or “made up.”

As Arizona weighs workplace heat protections, study finds California's policy saves lives Arizona has never had statewide regulations to protect workers from extreme heat. Neighboring California does have a workplace heat safety standard. A new study says California's policy saves lives.

New research: strong heat safety standards save workers’ lives.

California’s protections — water, shade, rest, & real enforcement — have cut outdoor worker deaths by 33%, saving dozens of lives every year.

The choice is simple: protect workers or leave them at risk.

Manhattan Luxury Apartment Market Surges in Month After Mamdani’s Win Real estate brokers say there has been no slowdown in demand from wealthy buyers.

“There is no Mamdani effect. The idea that people would flee New York was overblown. The numbers just aren’t bearing that out.”

We won’t say we told you so, but 💅

Shoppers Turn to Discounts and Debt, but Not Just for Holidays

Families are used to hunting for deals & sales during the holidays. But that’s now status quo the rest of the year, as everything from groceries to toys has become unaffordable.

“Prices have just gotten so out of hand within the last year,” said a 26-year old from Yonkers, NY.

‘Yikes’: New jobs data further undermines Trump claim of thriving economy Economists on Wednesday expressed significant concerns after new data from global payroll processing firm ADP estimated that the US economy lost 32,000 jobs last month.As reported by CNBC, small busin...

The federal government hasn’t released economic data in months. But the data that exists isn’t good news.

“In the absence of up to date government payrolls, all other signs point to a further deteriorating labor market,” said our @alexsjacquez.bsky.social.

Layoff announcements top 1.1 million this year, the most since 2020 pandemic, Challenger says The firm said layoff plans totaled 71,321 in November, a step down from October but still enough to bring the 2025 total up to 1.17 million.

Over a million people have been laid off this year - the largest number since 2020.

This is no “golden age of America” - it’s a brutal economy for anyone who doesn’t have a trust fund.

How life changed in a rural town that lost its clinic after Trump’s megabill, even if the politics haven’t | CNN Politics As the final hues of autumn linger in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the 200-person community of Churchville, Virginia, is grappling with the loss of its only health clinic.

Because of Republicans’ cut to health care, rural hospitals are closing across the country.

“To lose the clinic is the same as losing a grocery store or a local provider,” says a small business owner in rural Virginia.

Trump Calls Affordability a ‘Con Job’ as His Edge on the Economy Slips

The data is clear: working families are shifting their spending toward cheaper items & leveraging discounts, promotions, or pulling back on spending altogether.

Trump says it’s a “con job.”

Trump Calls Affordability a ‘Con Job’ as His Edge on the Economy Slips

The Feds' Beige Book is blunt: working families are strained, businesses are uncertain, & tariffs are pushing the economy in the wrong direction.

Trump meanwhile says affordability “doesn’t mean anything to anybody.”

Why you may not want lower prices as much as you think you do Though Americans might be clamoring for relief on groceries, housing and energy costs, economists say there’s a bigger downside to falling prices.

The wealthy are thriving while everyone else struggles to afford the basics. @lindsayowens.bsky.social in @washingtonpost.com on how the economy is fragmenting between the rich & the poor:

“The pace at which prices have increased over the last few years has produced a lot of anxiety for families.”

The Fed’s latest Beige Book confirms what working families have been saying for months: prices are still too high, wages aren’t keeping up, and the economy is losing steam.

Our @alexsjacquez.bsky.social says it best: economic insecurity is on the rise.

Prices in the Machine - The American Prospect AI’s real contribution to humanity could be maximizing corporate profit by preying on personal data to raise prices. In fact, it’s already happening.

Corporations use AI to change prices in the moment - tricking folks to pay more. That grift may be coming to an end says @lindsayowens.bsky.social to @prospect.org:

“It was hiding in plain sight & everyone has found it…There is a world where the outcome is transparent, public, predictable pricing.”

Affordability for All: An Agenda to Bring Down Costs for Working Families - Groundwork Collaborative

70% of voters report that necessities like housing, groceries, & health care are getting less affordable - & they want their elected leaders to step up.

New report from us, @stateinnovation.org, & @localprogress.bsky.social outlines 10 popular policies that elected officials should champion 👇

You’re paying more for less this shopping season. Now there’s proof | CNN Business Black Friday once again proved that Americans are willing to shop when they spot bargains.

Don’t be fooled by rosy Black Friday spending headlines: Americans are spending a lot more for a lot less.

Trump’s historic and unaffordable tariffs are partly to blame.

11Alive News: The Take | "Affordability for All" report (11/24/25) The “Affordability for All” report offers ten policy solutions to help families with rising costs. Liz Pancotti explains key recommendations and findings.

Our partners at @groundwork.bsky.social discussed the new report, Affordability for All, on 11Alive ATL! Co-authored with @localprogress.bsky.social, it offers 10 policies (like ending junk fees & capping utility rates) for state leaders to fight high living costs.

www.11alive.com/video/news/1...

More Americans are getting their power shut off, as unpaid bills pile up Average electricity costs have risen 11 percent since January, more than three times the rate of inflation.

Just as we enter the coldest months, Americans are paying 11% more for electricity than they were in January, when Trump took office. That’s 3x the rate of overall inflation.

Trump’s Golden Age: Where electricity is a luxury, & keeping the lights on becomes unattainable for working families.

The Art of the Hidden Fee: Our new resource outlines how corporations use a growing arsenal of deceptive pricing tactics to squeeze all of us & drive up record profits.

Rising prices aren’t by accident - they’re by design.

A Pricier Plate: Thanksgiving Costs Climb Nearly 10% This Year As families across the country prepare to carve turkey and watch football, new analysis from Groundwork Collaborative, The Century Foundation, and AFT

😰 65% of people say they are stressed about Thanksgiving prices
💰53% of Americans say Thanksgiving is harder to afford this year.
🫵 +50% say Trump’s economic agenda is to blame.

New analysis from @Groundwork shows how Trump's economic policies are ruining Thanksgiving.

Grocery prices “take a bite of the budget” ahead of Thanksgiving festivities | News Channel 3-12 SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) — When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, some of your favorite food might take a bigger bite out of your budget than usual. “I

No grocery store aisle is spared from Trump’s economic agenda.

“Canned goods are up ~20% as a result of steel & aluminum tariffs. The immigration enforcement provisions being touted by this admin are making it either much more expensive or just less possible to produce as much.”

Food prices are up, but the cost of Thanksgiving might not be Different reports give varying costs of a Thanksgiving dinner, with substitutions, downsizing, and store deals helping to keep prices down.

On @marketplace.org: This year’s Thanksgiving meal is tariff-boosted & extra-expensive.

Don't be fooled by those initial turkey prices: “They can put those prices in the paper or [online] to get you in the door, & then they know you'll buy the pumpkin pie filling, the green beans, & the stuffing.”

picture of meal for thanksgiving

Thanksgiving under Trump is costing families 10% more than last year. That's more than 3x the rate of inflation.

Full analysis from @Groundwork, @TCFdotorg, & @AFTunion. tcf.org/content/comm...

Three Things to Know: A More Expensive Holiday Season under Donald Trump Trump’s economic policies deliver higher grocery bills, a terrible holiday job market, and soaring energy costs. Authored by Emma Hussey.

While the White House insists food prices are dropping, the reality is undeniable. Thanks to our, @tcfdotorg.bsky.social, & @aft.org’s data, we know grocery prices are rising, and Trump’s tariff chaos is a major reason why.

@banking.senate.gov on how Trump is ruining this year’s Thanksgiving 👇

The dirty secret of America’s holiday shopping season | CNN Business Americans, enraged about years of rising prices, are going into the 2025 holiday shopping season prepared for battle. But this holiday shopping season could look a lot stronger than you’d expect – on ...

High-income families are living in a different (and better!) economy than everyone else.

Between skyrocketing prices and ever growing inflation, this holiday season will be full of spending more and getting less.

‘Scraping for crumbs’: Americans squeezed by affordability crisis Rising food, shelter and healthcare costs are hitting hard in Bethlehem and the surrounding Lehigh Valley

Food, rent, & health care costs are so unaffordable families are forced to forgo without.

“I’m going to be worried about whether or not I can get a next meal for my kids, and it’s terrifying,” said a PA woman.

This is Trump’s “Golden Age of America.”

Trump promised to lower prices.

Instead, Thanksgiving costs are up 10% — three times higher than inflation — and some everyday foods are nearly 60% higher than last year.

Families are paying the price for his failures.

Trump’s trade wars and inflation are causing the prices of everything from cranberry sauce to gravy to skyrocket — making your Thanksgiving dinner more expensive this year.