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A new report from the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee – Minority finds New Yorkers are paying $5,000 more on everyday goods and services as of July 2026.
This is compared to the national average of $3,800 for most Americans since President Donald Trump took office.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Friday while speaking to reporters at the New York State Fair said, “$5,000 is a lot of money. Our average wage earner in New York earns between $40,000 and $50,000 — $5,000 increase in cost? That’s 10% increase in cost for them. That’s too much money. They can’t afford it. They can’t afford their groceries. They can’t afford housing. They can’t afford fuel to fuel their car and they can’t afford healthcare.”
According to the report for New York, the costs break down to an increase of $1,078 on housing costs, an additional $310 on groceries and across the Empire State an additional $3 billion on gas prices since the start of the Iran war.
As Trump wages a trade war with Canada, he had this to say Thursday about affordability at The White House.
“Ultimately it’s going to be very good for us because when you talk about affordability, we’re losing $62 billion a year on average with Canada,” he said.
Political experts say as midterms approach, some voters may recall how Trump said he would lower costs for Americans while campaigning in 2024.
“It’s something that the president’s party has historically actually polled better on than Democrats, but that’s definitely not the case anymore,” said Jonathan Parent, associate professor of political science at Le Moyne College.
With current events, could things get worse before they get better?
In recent weeks, reportedly users on social media have shared how credit card company American Express is cutting their credit limits.
Longtime users say the last time credit tightened is right before the 2008 economic crash and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
“Maybe reading some tea leaves from something like that it’s suggestive of the fact that major financial corporations and companies are assuming that they’re not going to get paid back on some of the credit they extend,” said Russell Weaver, research director at Cornell University’s ILR Buffalo Office.
In a statement to Spectrum News 1, American Express said: “As a responsible lender, American Express regularly reviews Card Member accounts and may adjust credit limits based on a variety of factors as part of our normal course of business. We may also periodically verify Card Member and business information to help ensure our decisions are based on the most current information available. Card Members are notified when their credit limit is changed. Card Members may contact American Express by calling the number on the back of their Card with questions or to request that the decision be reviewed.”
