{"id":882564,"date":"2026-10-15T00:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T00:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/882564\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T00:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T00:12:13","slug":"inflation-report-prices-are-up-and-real-wages-are-down-thanks-to-trumps-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/882564\/","title":{"rendered":"Inflation report: Prices are up and real wages are down, thanks to Trump’s policies."},"content":{"rendered":"

This story is adapted from the Slatest newsletter. You can sign up here<\/a> to get it in your inbox every day.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably heard the phrase It\u2019s the economy, stupid. The basic idea is that the country\u2019s economic health correlates closely with which candidate or political party ends up winning elections. But it\u2019s increasingly clear that voters prize certain aspects of the economy more highly than others, at least right now. Stocks are booming, and unemployment is relatively low, yet Americans seem to care much more about what things cost and whether their wages make it possible to afford those things. And on that score, two data points out today show why Donald Trump and his party are probably in for a drubbing in next month\u2019s midterms.<\/p>\n

What data points are you talking about?<\/p>\n

The first is the latest inflation figure. According to the Labor Department, consumer prices rose by 3.7 percent<\/a> over the year ending in September\u2014a sharper rate of increase than the month before.<\/p>\n

In fairness, didn\u2019t inflation peak at over 9 percent a few years back? So isn\u2019t this latest figure pretty good?<\/p>\n

You might think so, but most voters disagree. For one thing, inflation is on the wrong trajectory: It was 3 percent on an annual basis when Trump took office last year, and today\u2019s reading is up from 3.4 percent in August. A second factor is psychological. Inflation spiked after the pandemic, and many of us remember what food, rent, and other basic necessities cost before it. So while sticker prices are rising less quickly than they once did, they still register to many Americans as unacceptably high. Lastly, that 3.7 percent figure is an average increase across a range of goods and services. Gas, which costs $4.33 per gallon<\/a> nationwide on average, is about 40 percent more expensive than it was a year ago.<\/p>\n

Is inflation the only factor driving voters\u2019 economic anger?<\/p>\n

No, which brings us to today\u2019s second data point: real wages, a measure of how much people can buy with the wages they bring home. For real wages to go up, people\u2019s earnings have to outpace inflation. The opposite is happening. As of September, price increases have outpaced average hourly wage growth for six straight months<\/a>. In real (inflation-adjusted) terms, the typical earner effectively takes home the same amount today<\/a> that they did when Trump returned to office. That isn\u2019t much of a record for him or his party to boast about.<\/p>\n

OK, but is it fair to blame this on Trump?<\/p>\n

Not entirely; wages and prices are influenced by a host of macroeconomic factors outside any president\u2019s control. But Trump certainly hasn\u2019t helped. He got reelected in large part because voters were unhappy with high inflation under Joe Biden, then proceeded to make a series of policy moves that raised prices. That began with tariffs, but the more recent (and likely more salient) factor is Trump\u2019s war of choice in Iran, which directly boosted energy prices. Americans aren\u2019t happy: Most say he\u2019s focused more on growing his own personal wealth than on growing theirs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fair. But isn\u2019t the economy often Americans\u2019 most important voting issue? So why should Republicans be more worried this year?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good point, but there\u2019s at least one major difference this time: Back in 2018, when the GOP last faced voters midway through a Trump term, gas was $2.76 a gallon<\/a> and annual inflation was running at a cool 2.2 percent<\/a>. Many Americans were unhappy with the president over issues like healthcare and immigration, but majorities still viewed his economic record favorably<\/a>. Democrats nevertheless managed to net 41 seats in the House that year, their biggest gain since Watergate. Today, the economic winds have reversed. In several recent polls<\/a>, Democrats lead when voters are asked which party is better equipped to tame inflation<\/a>, handle the economy<\/a>, or keep the country prosperous<\/a>, a turnabout from recent elections<\/a> in which those issues have been top of mind.<\/p>\n

OK, so what\u2019s the bigger takeaway?<\/p>\n

The next few weeks will bring a whirlwind of news stories, polls, and other developments that may well affect how some Americans vote. And although political consultants and journalists like to think of campaigns as clashes of ideas and candidate personalities, the truth is that the economic fundamentals that drive most electoral outcomes are baked in at this point.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Tolga Akdo\u011fan<\/p>\n

Higher inflation is an unhappy trend, but my colleagues have taken note of a few fun ones that might pique your interest\u2014and help get your mind off how much you\u2019re paying at the pump these days:<\/p>\n

An a-Muse-ing trend: The newest creations from Silicon Valley are hyper-adorable digital assistants, most notably Meta\u2019s Muse and OpenAI\u2019s Dots. Alex Kirshner argues that the rise of these cute little mascots is \u201ca natural pivot point in not just A.I. design but public messaging<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He Shot a Man Dead 15 Times. People Applauded\u2014and He Got Away With It. His Next Act Is Turning Heads.
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Original Sin of Trump\u2019s Presidency Is Coming Back to Bite Him
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

What comes after \u201cwine moms\u201d: When Susannah Bradley was raising her young children, wine was many mom\u2019s vice of choice to help them cope with the stresses of parenting. Now that Susannah\u2019s kids have grown into teens, she has noticed that the moms in her life are beginning to dabble in drugs instead. What\u2019s going on<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Some autumnal ale: It can be delightful when craft breweries churn out seasonally inspired flavors, but what happens when we start being served pumpkin beer in August, or Christmas beer before Halloween? Courtney Iseman renders a verdict on this particular type of seasonal creep<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An action-packed supernatural thriller: Netflix\u2019s new No. 1 show, Below, stars Josh Hartnett as a brooding Newfoundlander haunted by something supernatural lurking in the ocean\u2019s depths. Rebecca Onion declares that the miniseries is a bracing delight, akin to \u201ckissing a dead fish and taking a shot\u201d\u2014and that\u2019s a compliment<\/a>!<\/p>\n

With that strange mental image firmly embedded in my brain, it\u2019s time for me to dip out. Hope you have a great evening, and we\u2019ll see you back here tomorrow!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Copy Link
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Gift Story
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

You have remaining gift available this month. This gift link is valid through .<\/p>\n

There was an error with your gift link. Please try again.<\/p>\n

Copy link\n <\/p>\n

Link copied!\n <\/p>\n

Only Slate Plus members can gift Slate stories. Become a member to share 10 free articles a month.Become a Plus Member<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story is adapted from the Slatest newsletter. You can sign up here to get it in your…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":882565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[370552,28,101,370550,370551],"class_list":["post-882564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-adnodenews_and_politics-the_slatest","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-redux","tag-sectionnews-and-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/882565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}