Newsweek (November 17)
U.S. families “are struggling to keep up with rising utility costs” amid “persistent high prices for many groceries and other items.” Rising utility debt “has developed into a significant economic and political issue, which may affect the White House administration’s credibility on affordability, especially as voters have cited cost-of-living as their top concern in recent elections.” Monthly energy bills have risen 12% between April and June of 2025, with “nearly one in 20 U.S. households now facing utility debt severe enough for collection agencies to become involved.”
Tags: Affordability, Cost of living, Credibility, Debt, Elections, Energy bills, Families, Groceries, High prices, Household, Struggling, U.S., Utility costs, Voters, White House
The Atlantic (April 7)
“In his quest to make America great, President Donald Trump is withdrawing the United States from global trade. American families, companies, and investors will pay a price for this…. But the repercussions don’t end there. The tariff regime is also destroying a pillar of American global power, and it will further isolate the country at a moment when others stand ready to fill the vacuum.”
Tags: Companies, Destroying, Families, Global power, Global trade, Investors, Isolate, Price, Repercussions, Tariff regime, Trump, U.S., Vacuum, Withdrawing
Market Watch (April 4)
Trump’s tariffs are sparking the “worst week for stocks since 2020” and leading the VIX volatility index to a new high for the year. “U.S. stocks showed signs of ‘capitulation,’ or a move toward ‘panic selling,’ on Friday” as the “tariffs wreaked havoc in the stock market… stoking fears of a trade-war escalation that could lead to a recession.”
Tags: China, Destruction, Economic growth, Empower, Families, Global trading system, Higher inflation, Highest, Rules, Tariffs, Tax increase, Trump, U.S., Unemployment, Wealth
New York Times (March 31)
President Trump is poised to introduce what are at least “the nation’s highest tariffs since the 1940s.” Unfortunately, these will lead to “lower economic growth, higher inflation, higher unemployment, the destruction of wealth and a tax increase on American families.” In addition, they “will deal a blow to the rules underlying the global trading system and further empower China.”
Tags: Destruction, Economic growth, Empower, Families, Global trading system, Higher inflation, Highest, Rules, Tariffs, Tax increase, Trump, U.S., Unemployment, Wealth
Washington Post (September 10)
“After months of gloom, Americans are finally starting to feel better about the economy and more resigned to inflation. Consumer sentiment, which hit rock bottom in June, has begun inching up in recent weeks. Gas prices are down. Decades-high inflation appears to be easing.” And there are signs that “many families are learning to deal with higher prices.”
Tags: Americans, Consumer sentiment, Easing, Economy, Families, Gas prices, Gloom, Higher prices, Inflation, Learning, Rock bottom
Bloomberg (May 24)
“For decades, the surest way for ordinary Chinese families to grow their wealth and guarantee future financial stability was to put most of their money into real estate, and the rest into the stock market. Now, even those with money to spare are clutching onto their cash, not willing to take a chance in the Covid-battered Chinese economy.”
Tags: Battered, Cash, Chance, China, Clutching, Covid, Families, Financial stability, Future, Guarantee, Money, Ordinary, Real estate, Spare, Stock market, Wealth
Reuters (August 31)
“Parents will feel the change” of new restrictions limiting minors to a single hour of video game time on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. “Workaholics will find it harder to … use addictive games and apps as de-facto babysitters, but then the government is trying to reduce overtime too. Over the longer term, this could be healthy for Chinese families, but not so much for businesses.”
Tags: Addictive, Apps, De-facto babysitters, Families, Government, Healthy, Hour, Minors, Overtime, Parents, Restrictions, Video games, Workaholics
Wall Street Journal (July 11)
“The bitterness of Brexit pervades all aspects of British life and politics. It has divided friends and families, produced a Conservative cabinet with more leaks than an old sieve, split the diplomats of the U.S. and the U.K., and exposed a rift between Britain’s elected politicians and its unelected civil servants.”
Tags: Bitterness, Brexit, Cabinet, Conservative, Diplomats, Divides, Elected, Families, Friends, Life, Politicians, Politics, Rift, Split, U.S., UK, Unelected
The Economist (November 24)
“American families are increasingly hard to distinguish from European ones.” Though the economy has improved, “births continue to drop. America’s total fertility rate, which can be thought of as the number of children the average woman will bear, has fallen from 2.12 to 1.77. It is now almost exactly the same as England’s rate, and well below that of France.”
New York Times (July 1)
“There’s an anomaly in an economy that is supposedly running flat out: Many families still haven’t recovered the wealth they lost in the financial collapse…. Despite high stock prices and record home prices, household net worth since 2007 has decreased for all income groups — except the top 10 percent.”
Tags: Anomaly, Economy, Families, Financial collapse, Home prices, Household, Net worth, Stock prices, Wealth
