From “The Affordability Crisis Is Here, and It’s Hitting the Working Class the Hardest” by Angela Hanks and Julie Margetta Morgan at from the Century Foundation, via Ms.:
While President Trump dismisses the financial squeeze millions of Americans are facing as a “hoax,” families are being forced to make impossible tradeoffs every day to put food on the table. The facts are clear: The affordability crisis is here, and it’s hitting working-class families the hardest.
- One in three Americans skipped a meal to save money. (Up from one in four in our June survey.)
- Nearly three in 10 delayed or went without medical care due to cost.
- Roughly half tapped into their savings to meet daily expenses.
- More than eight in 10 think prices will continue to climb under Trump.
A new survey of 1,426 registered voters, conducted by GQR on behalf of The Century Foundation (TCF), provides fresh evidence of the extent to which families are struggling in President Trump’s economy. While financial insecurity is widespread, younger Americans, people of color and women are disproportionately suffering and increasingly forced to make difficult tradeoffs—from skipping medical care and meals to relying on payday loans and cash advances.
TCF’s findings also shed new light on the distinct challenges facing working-class Americans—a group that backed Trump in large numbers in 2024, but today experience a markedly different, harsher economy than their college-educated peers. Working-class voters feel the pain of Trump’s inflationary decisions most acutely and are more likely to depend on risky, high-cost financial products such as payday loans to bridge the gap between their wages and rising expenses. Lastly, Americans of all backgrounds overwhelmingly support policies that put money back in families’ pockets and curb the influence of corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
This report highlights three core findings from the survey:
- Americans increasingly cannot afford the basic building blocks of a healthy, stable life. Roughly three in 10 voters delayed or skipped medical care in the past year due to cost, while nearly two-thirds switched to cheaper groceries or bought less food altogether. About half tapped into their savings to cover everyday expenses.
- Working-class Americans live in a substantially harsher economy—and they feel the strain of worsening economic conditions more acutely in their lives. Those without degrees are roughly twice as likely to skip medication or a meal, and they are also more likely to fall behind on bills, carry debt and turn to risky payment tools to make ends meet.
- Voters across demographic groups believe corporations and the wealthy hold too much power, and they overwhelmingly support policies that put money in the hands of working people. Large shares also want the government to take decisive action to limit the influence of corporations.
As families struggle with rising costs and paychecks that fail to keep pace, Trump and Republicans in Congress are advancing policies that will further hurt household finances. In fact, our findings here likely understate the true scale of Americans’ economic insecurity, given the survey was conducted in October, before the full impacts of massive health care price hikes set in for some 250 million people—changes that will push even more families to skip meals, delay medical care and take on risky debt. In a sign of just how salient cost-of-living concerns are for voters, Democratic candidates from New York City to Virginia to New Jersey won competitive elections in November by centering affordability issues at every stage of their campaigns.
