Americans Want Lower Costs, but Inflation Just Hit Its Highest Mark Since January

Inflation hit its highest level since January, with prices rising 0.4 percent in August.

The popular narrative says Americans don't agree about very much in their politics these days—but recent polling shows there's at least one thing that a big, cross-partisan majority wants the government to deliver: a lower cost of living.

That's most striking in a survey published last week by the Economic Innovation Group. In response to a question about what public officials should prioritize to make life better for American workers, the overwhelming response was "reduce the cost of everyday essentials." When combined with their second choice—making housing more affordable—a full 65 percent of the American electorate wants to see politicians tackle rising costs. That's true across the political spectrum, with nearly identical numbers from those who voted for President Donald Trump in 2024 and those who voted for Kamala Harris.

But you can't always get what you want—and in politics that is even more true than in most parts of life.

Inflation hit its highest annualized level since January by rising to 2.9 percent in August, according to consumer price data released Thursday by the Department of Labor. In the past month, prices climbed by 0.4 percent, the highest month-over-month increase since December 2024.

The increase was an expected one—and had been foreshadowed by sharply rising prices in the wholesale market last month. Even so, it is not a welcome signal alongside a labor market that's struggling and amid Trump's pressure campaign aimed at getting the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates (which could push inflation higher still, or trigger so-called "stagflation").

The consumer price index showed that rising prices in August hit all levels of what voters might consider "everyday essentials." Food prices climbed by 0.5 percent, while energy prices shot up by 0.7 percent. Clothing (up 0.5 percent), new and used vehicles (up 0.3 percent and 1 percent, respectively), and shelter (up 0.4 percent) all climbed as well.

It's impossible to ignore the fact that those price increases coincided with the month that many of Trump's long-threatened "reciprocal" tariffs finally took effect after long delays.

"Recent months making clear that tariffs are materially weighing on consumer prices," Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics for the Yale Budget Lab, posted on Twitter.

The middle-class squeeze from tariffs is here. Inflation hit 2.9% in August, the highest since January and up from 2.3% in April. It's troubling that so many basic necessities are rising in price again: Food, gas, clothing and shelter all had big cost jumps in August. And this is… pic.twitter.com/uJrSb8jx2z

— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) September 11, 2025

Defenders of Trump's tariff policies have argued that they won't show up as inflation, since tariffs increase prices via fiscal policy (that is, as tax increases) rather than as monetary policy (which is what inflation tracks).

That may not be much of a defense at this point. Indeed, if that's true, then things look worse for Trump, who is now presiding over increasing inflation and tariff-related price increases that go above and beyond what's seen in the latest consumer price data.

Regardless of which perspective you believe on the economic side of things, it is now obvious that rising prices are a political problem for the Trump administration—and that Trump's favorite policy is making that problem worse.

Go back to that survey from the Economic Innovation Group that found a clear majority of Americans asking their political leaders to lower the cost of living. In a follow-up question, respondents were asked what they thought politicians should do to accomplish that goal. One of the offered responses was "raising tariffs on imported goods." It polled dead last among both the Trump-voting cohort and the Harris-voting one.

The question that remains: Is the White House listening?