Free Republic

Over the course of 2025, the average tariff rate on U.S. imports increased from 2.6 to 13 percent. In this blog post, we ask how much of the tariffs were paid by the U.S., using import data through November 2025. We find that nearly 90 percent of the tariffs’ economic burden fell on U.S. firms and consumers. [...] We highlight two main results. First, 94 percent of the tariff incidence was borne by the U.S. in the first eight months of 2025. This result means that a 10 percent tariff caused only a 0.6 percentage point decline in foreign export...

SUPPLEMENTING OUR BEEF SUPPLY: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Proclamation temporarily increasing the U.S. tariff-rate quota for lean beef trimmings to boost supply and make ground beef affordable for American consumers despite current supply challenges.The Proclamation permits an additional 80,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings per year from Argentina to be imported tariff-free in four quarterly tranches of 20,000 metric tons each.The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the United States Trade Representative, will continue monitoring domestic lean beef supplies and related imports and will advise on any additional actions needed to ensure an adequate domestic supply.RESPONDING...

Democrats successfully defended a conservative seat in rural Louisiana on Saturday night, as Chasity Martinez defeated Republican Brad Daigle by a dominant 62-38 margin—a massive 37-point overperformance compared to the 2024 presidential result. Republicans had hoped to score their first legislative pickup of any kind during Donald Trump’s second term, and they had good reason to think they might succeed in the 60th House District. Voters in the district, which includes part of Assumption and Iberville parishes (Louisiana’s equivalent of counties), had long backed state and local Democrats but had moved decidedly toward Republicans on the federal level in recent...

(NewsNation) — It’s never been easier to tap a button and have dinner show up at your door, but the line between convenience and cost is drawing new attention. A recent New York Times story explored the rise of America’s food-delivery culture, prompting fresh scrutiny of how much people are spending on apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub. The Times spoke to a 34-year-old woman in San Diego with a $50,000 annual salary who said she spends at least $200 to $300 a week on food delivery — a pattern she said has eaten away at her savings. Another...

After Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race going away in November, the consensus among the political chattering class was that it’s a foregone conclusion the Republicans will lose in next year’s midterms. The experts said this was a referendum on President Donald Trump, and an early sign that his America First movement is cracking. The same experts pointed to “key Democrat wins” in the New Jersey governor’s race and the New York City mayoral election as further indicators of a coming blue wave. To be so smug in their predictions, the experts had to ignore the fact that the...

After campaigning on “affordability,” Virginia state Democrats have introduced a measure to more than double their salaries, now that fellow Democrat Abigail Spanberger is in the Governor’s Mansion, giving them control of all three branches of their state’s government. “Virginia Democrats are now trying to give themselves a PAY RAISE after proposing thousands of dollars in new taxes hammering working families, the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus warned in a X.com post highlighting how the legislators’ pay raise would hurt taxpayers: “They ran on ‘affordability,’ but all they’ve done is introduce insane left-wing policies and take from your pocket to line...

Voters feelings about the affordability of the following items: Transportation: 🟢 Affordable +53 Utilities: 🟢 Affordable +53 Food: 🟢 Affordable +47 Groceries: 🟢 Affordable +43 Having a family: 🟢 Affordable +7 Health Care: 🟢 Affordable +3 Housing: 🔴 Unaffordable -10 Education: 🔴 Unaffordable -24 NYT/Siena poll | 1/12-1/17 RV

I can't afford to buy a home! I hear this lament often, especially from young folks. Boomers often respond, saying, "Quit buying $6 lattes and ordering Uber Eats, and maybe you could save for a house." It might just be me, but it seems like that may oversimplify things a tad. I mean, there's no doubt a lot of young people would benefit from budgeting lessons. However, that doesn't change the fact that there is a significant home affordability problem here in the U.S. Last year, the average age of a first-time homebuyer in the U.S. climbed to 40 for...

David Delfiner and Lisa Parsons received a shocking letter from their health insurance provider when they checked their mail last week. Their monthly health insurance cost will increase from $350 a month this year to $2,221 starting in 2026. “It’s insane. It’s unbelievable,” said Parsons, a 59-year-old retiree living in South Lake Tahoe. The couple is not alone as open enrollment begins and 1.7 million Californians are facing an average 97% surge in premiums for next year’s health insurance plans available on the open marketplace. Covered California, the state’s health care exchange, expects prices to increase 10% on average for...

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said that President Donald Trump called her on Monday following a speech in which she sharply criticized his record on costs and governance. "In my remarks, I made it clear that despite promising to lower costs On Day One, Trump has done nothing but raise costs for families," she said in the statement. She said Trump called her after her remarks at the event on Monday. "I told him that Congress can pass legislation to cap credit card rates if he will actually fight for it. I also urged him to get House Republicans...

A grocery store receipt from 1997 shows just how much prices of everyday items have skyrocketed in less than three decades. TikTok user Zoe Dippel shared the shockingly low costs in a viral video after a family member found the proof of purchase in a box of mementos. “$155 for all of this!” one of Dippel’s relatives remarked after holding up the lengthy receipt from Texas chain H-E-B dated June 20, 1997. “That’s a lot of stuff,” Dipple declared, as she started to sort through the 122 items and read the prices out loud. The receipt revealed that Little Debbie...

New York City's socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani ran on a platform of making things "free" and "affordable." That was a lie, of course. He has no authority to, for example, make the city's buses and subways "free" for commuters. In fact, a few days after he took office, the subway fare climbed to $3 per ride. He also thinks he can make World Cup tickets "available to all New Yorkers," because — like all socialists — he has no idea how the real world actually work. But his most nefarious plans come from housing. He and his housing/tenant advisor Cea...

There’s a cruel irony in working harder than your parents did and still being unable to afford what they had. For a generation of Americans who played by the rules—saved diligently, built credit, waited for the right time—the right time never seemed to come. The house with the yard and the room for grandkids to visit? It drifted further away with every passing year.The numbers tell a grim story. Home prices have surged 105% over the last decade, transforming what was once a milestone into a fantasy for millions of families. Young couples delay starting families. Retirees watch their fixed...

President Trump on Wednesday called for a ban on “large institutional investors” buying single-family homes in a bid to address the issue of affordability. “I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that he will discuss the topic, including further Housing and Affordability proposals, at the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month. The proposed ban could prove to be a way in for Trump and Republicans to...

President Donald Trump says he believes the 2026 midterm elections will center on “pricing” as Republicans head into a critical period with control of Congress on the line. Trump’s comments follow a string of favorable economic reports over the last two weeks showing inflation is cooling and the economy is hotter than expected. The White House is keen to tout the latest data as it confronts cost-of-living concerns that have underpinned a string of Democratic overperformances across the country. Still, polls show Americans are struggling. Nearly half of respondents said they find groceries, utility bills, health care, housing and transportation...

Widening demonstrations sparked by Iran’s ailing economy spread Thursday into the Islamic Republic’s rural provinces, with at least seven people being killed in the first fatalities reported among security forces and protesters, authorities said. The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere. The fatalities, two on Wednesday and five on Thursday, occurred in four cities, largely home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group. The protests have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody...

SLOP, PARASOCIAL and rage bait were contenders for word of the year in 2025. In 2026 an early favourite for that title, at least among pollsters and election strategists, is “affordability”, often paired with the word “crisis”. Having at last found a slogan that seems to work against the spell of Trumpism, Democrats will talk of little else between now and the midterms in November. In Europe, which is better at reposting American memes than coming up with fresh ones, there is talk of a cost-of-living crisis. A transatlantic consensus is forming that prices are out of whack. But are...

BREAKING: In an enormous development, HUD Sec. Scott Turner CONFIRMS President Trump has called a meeting of his top economic advisors in Florida to draw up the most AGGRESSIVE housing affordability plan in US history This is HUGE! GREAT news for the midterms. 🔥 "He has been working 24/7! We will be meeting together in Florida to talk about housing affordability ideas. This is top of mind and top priority for the president."

Data this week showed that the American economy is growing at its fastest pace in two years — and yet polling shows the mood on Main Street is grim. It’s almost hard to believe we’re talking about the same economy. But the metrics offer another reminder that two seemingly diverging trends can simultaneously be true. An economy that’s growing rapidly doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is feeling it. Yes, gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the US economy, heated up this summer to a sizzling annualized pace of 4.3%, far outpacing economists’ expectations. But the booming GDP did not...

PHOENIX—All eyes were on Gen Z this weekend as more than 10,000 students gathered at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, where speakers and panels discussed the issues motivating Gen Z heading into a pivotal election year. After making impressive inroads with young voters in the 2024 presidential election, the conservative movement is vigorously debating how to address young voters’ concerns heading into the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. From the main stage to The Daily Signal’s interviews with students in attendance, one issue rose above the rest: affordability. Affordability Is Everything “Probably the most important economic issue of our...