Local view: Families still feel the squeeze from rising prices

By State Director Angie Lauritsen for Lincoln Journal Star

(September 9, 2026)

Don’t tell families inflation is over.

There is a simple way to settle the argument about whether American families are better off under President Donald Trump: Don’t tell them. Show them the receipt.

Families don’t experience the economy as a statistic or a talking point. They feel it at the grocery store, when the mortgage or rent is due, when they gas up the car, when the electricity bill arrives and when they pay the health insurance premium.

That receipt is getting longer and more expensive.

A new analysis from the Joint Economic Committee estimates the average American household has paid more than $3,800 extra for goods and services as costs have risen under President Trump.

Nearly $4,000!

That is not a small sum. That can be a car payment, a mortgage, and weeks of groceries combined. For a family living paycheck to paycheck, $3,800 can mean the difference between getting ahead and falling further behind.

When I read arguments telling Americans not to “buy the media spin” about inflation, I find myself saying: Don’t take anyone’s word for it — look at the receipt.

Presidents and members of Congress — like Reps. Don Bacon and Mike Flood — make choices. Those choices have consequences. Increasingly, we are seeing the consequences of choices made by this administration.

Look no further than Nebraska’s fields.

The Financial Times recently reported on the devastating impact the war in Iran is having on American farmers. In eastern Nebraska, farmer Matt Bailey told the paper that a fertilizer he once purchased for $470 a ton 10 years ago now costs more than $900. Diesel prices have climbed from $3.81 a gallon before the war to $5.45.

The numbers don’t lie. They're the costs for a Nebraska farmer trying to plant and harvest a crop. Farmers are not the only ones who pay. Fuel, fertilizer, transportation and production costs ripple through the economy. When the cost of producing and moving food rises, consumers will pay more, too.

The same is true of tariffs.

We are often told tariffs will magically make America richer without making anything more expensive. But tariffs are taxes on imported goods and materials. Businesses have to account for those costs, and consumers ultimately foot the bill.

Look at the auto industry. The Trump Administration is escalating its trade war with Canada, threatening 50% tariffs on Canadian automobiles, auto parts and steel. The problem is that the American and Canadian auto industries aren't two separate economies. They are deeply integrated supply chains, with parts crossing the border multiple times before a vehicle reaches a showroom.

That matters because a family doesn't experience a tariff as a line on a federal trade spreadsheet. They experience it as a higher monthly car payment or repair bill.

That's the point that often gets lost in Washington. Families don't live based on the inflation rate. They live on a household budget. When it doesn't stretch far enough, families find ways to make it work. But it’s getting harder.

New reporting shows lower-income households are spending an increasing share of their income on gasoline and that more consumers are turning to credit cards and buy-now-pay-later services to manage everyday expenses.

When the paycheck doesn’t cover everything, the credit card comes out. Now, you’re paying interest on expenses you can’t afford.

Health care adds another enormous pressure.

Families were promised relief from rising health care costs. Instead, congressional Republicans refused to extend the tax credits that make ACA coverage more affordable. For a family and small business owner choosing a health plan, that isn’t an abstract argument about federal policy — it’s a very real decision about whether they can afford to see a doctor.

The answer to today's affordability crisis isn’t to argue about the inflation rate. Inflation is a measure of how quickly prices are rising, and President Trump said he would lower prices on day one.

If your grocery bill went from $150 to $180 and the rate at which it is increasing slows, you are still paying way more. Families know this.

The question we should be asking is whether the people making decisions in Washington are doing everything they can to make life more affordable.

Tariffs are a choice.

The decisions surrounding the war in Iran are choices.

Health care policy is a choice.

Those choices boil down to one shared problem: Everything costs too much!

Nebraska's Good Life shouldn't mean working harder just to afford the same life you had yesterday.

Angie Lauritsen is the state director of Nebraska For Us, a community leader, former elected official and longtime policy advocate focused on removing economic barriers for working families.