Trump to blame for high cost of living, Americans say in new poll
Americans are struggling financially, grappling with debt and the rising cost of living, and are blaming the Trump administration and corporate interests for worsening economic outlooks for working families, according to a new poll,Six out of 10 Americans place blame on the Trump administration for driving up their cost of living, according to a poll conducted by Morning Consult for the Century Foundation, which asked 2,007 Americans how they are managing the high cost of living in the US economy, who they think is to blame and what are the solutions,Sixty three per cent said Trump had had a negative impact on grocery prices, and 61% said he had had a negative impact on the cost of living,Nearly half, 49%, said the Trump administration had had a negative impact on their finances,Nearly eight out of 10 Americans, including 70% of Republicans, fear that Trump’s tariffs will increase the price of everyday goods.
“Donald Trump has simultaneously raised prices on everyday goods through a reckless approach to tariffs, a decimation of programs that help Americans afford healthcare, education, food and childcare, and then kneecapping federal regulators who keep banks and other big businesses from swindling consumers,” said Julie Margetta Morgan, president of the Century Foundation.“This has created an alarming set of market conditions.Americans are left on their own to face high prices and low earnings, are building their own safety nets from a web of financial products, credit cards, buy now, pay later loans, payday loans and student debt, and companies have been given the green light to manipulate these products to boost their own profits without having to worry about following the law.”According to the poll, more than six out of 10 Americans said it had become more difficult to find a good paying job, buy a home and afford childcare.More than four out of five Americans, 83%, said they were concerned about the cost of groceries, with 46% saying they were very concerned.
Some 47% said they were worried about being able to pay their rent or mortgage, 64% said they were worried about affording an unexpected medical expense.About 48% said they believed they would have trouble affording an unexpected $500 bill without borrowing.One in four said it would be “very difficult”.A quarter of those surveyed said they spent at least three hours a day worrying about their finances and ability to afford basic necessities.Another 25% of respondents said they or someone in their household had skipped meals in the past year in order to make ends meet, and 26% said they had fallen behind on their monthly bills over the past year.
Americans also fear things are getting worse economically, with 76% of those polled saying they fear a looming economic recession.Corporations and billionaires were seen as a big factor behind this financial anxiety, with 51% saying they believe corporations have had an active role in making life more difficult for average people over the past 25 years, and 52% saying billionaires have made life tougher.Half of those polled also believe congressional Republicans have made life more difficult, with 41% believing Democrats have made life more difficult.“Millions of Americans, across parties, across backgrounds, are deeply anxious, and they’re struggling to afford basics like housing and health care.Donald Trump is making these struggles worse,” said Rachel West, senior fellow at the Century Foundation.
“Americans believe the outsized influence of corporations and the wealthy has made their lives harder, and the risks they’re taking to cope with high costs like taking on debt and tapping into their savings should sound an alarm for policymakers,”
UK food inflation: why your barbecue meat is becoming more expensive
The weather is not the only thing putting a dampener on impromptu barbecues as consumers balk at the soaring cost of burgers, sausages and chicken to put on the grill.At nearly £4, a four-pack of supermarket own-label beef quarter-pounders costs 53%, or £1.37, more than this time last year, according to the price analysts Assosia. With steak and kebabs also off the menu because they are too pricey, Britons are switching to poultry.However, this extra demand is pushing up the price of chicken
Openreach engineers trial panic alarms as incidents of abuse and assault soar
From scissors being brandished as weapons to verbal abuse and being trapped during a home visit, the number of reported incidents of abuse and assault on telecoms engineers is on the rise.Openreach, the BT subsidiary that maintains the vast majority of the broadband network serving UK homes and businesses, recorded 450 reports of abuse and assault in the year to the end of March.The number of incidents involving Openreach employees was up 8% year-on-year, a 40% increase on 2022-23 and seven times the volume reported almost a decade ago.Abuse and assault has for the first time become the largest cause of injury to Openreach office staff and its 22,000 field engineers. Managers believe the number of incidents is even higher, as many cases are not reported by staff
Airbnb guest says images were altered in false £12,000 damage claim
Airbnb has apologised to a woman after an apartment host falsely claimed she had caused thousands of pounds’ worth of damage and used images she says were digitally manipulated to back up his allegations.The London-based academic was refunded almost £4,300, and an internal review of how the case was dealt with has been launched at the short-term accommodation rental company.The incident highlights how cheap and easily available artificial intelligence software is now being used to manipulate images to give false evidence of what has happened in consumer complaints, according to one security expert.The woman, who is based in London, had booked the one-bedroom apartment in New York’s Manhattan for two-and-a-half months earlier this year to stay in while she was studying, but she decided to leave early after feeling unsafe in the area.Shortly after she left, the host told Airbnb that she had caused more than £12,000 worth of damage, and submitted pictures of an apparently cracked coffee table as part of his case
Jury orders Tesla to pay more than $200m to plaintiffs in deadly 2019 Autopilot crash
A Florida jury ordered Tesla to pay more than $200m to victims of a deadly crash involving its Autopilot driver assist technology.Friday’s verdict is a hit for Elon Musk’s car company, as it opens the door to other costly lawsuits and could potentially strike a blow to Tesla’s reputation for safety at a critical time for the company.And the decision has been closely eyed by other car companies, as they work to develop cars that increasingly drive themselves.The federal jury in Miami held that Tesla bore significant responsibility for the crash because its technology failed and that not all the blame can be put on a reckless driver, even one who admitted he was distracted by his cellphone before hitting a young couple out gazing at the stars.The decision comes as Musk seeks to convince Americans his cars are safe enough to drive on their own as he plans to roll out a driverless taxi service in several cities in the coming months
‘He was angry’: India admit wind-up strategy to disrupt Joe Root’s batting
At the end of another day of backchat and occasionally fraying tempers, in which the former England captain Michael Vaughan suggested of the two sets of players that “it’s almost like they’ve had enough of each other”, India admitted Joe Root had been the target of a deliberate plan to wind him up and put him off his game.Alastair Cook, another former England captain, had suggested as much after Root reacted to a comment from Prasidh Krishna. “He was angry, he wasn’t in much control, but why wouldn’t you try to upset Joe Root?” Cook said. “I don’t know if it was a plan but you can say that it did work. I just hope what he said was within the line
Yorkshire and Glamorgan wins shake up tables: county cricket – as it happened
Wins for Glamorgan at the top end of Division Two, and Yorkshire at the bottom end of Division One, spruces things up nicely as the County Championship slips into the wings for August.Glamorgan’s first Championship victory at Old Trafford since 1993 left them sitting pretty in the second promotion spot behind Leicestershire. Rain had wiped out most of the morning’s cricket but the visiting bowlers stuck to their task against Lancashire, Asitha Fernando producing a juicy inswinging yorker to get rid of Tom Bailey and Ben Kellaway persuading Chris Green, the saviour of Cheltenham, to top-edge a sweep. Glamorgan cemented their victory when Jimmy Anderson was bowled by Mason Crane – who hopped on the team coach with nine for 126 in the match.A Scarborough, a 22-point hoopla lifted Yorkshire clear of the immediate relegation zone
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