Over the last few months, inflation has been a rising problem in the United States, and prices will continue to rise as President Donald Trump has introduced tariffs that are being imposed on other countries.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of how much prices change over a designated time for a group of consumer goods and services. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in October 2024, the CPI was 2.6%, and then in January of 2025 it rose to 3.0%. Every month since October, the CPI has increased, and trends show that this pattern may continue as we move further into the year. A rising CPI indicates increasing inflation, and a falling CPI indicates decreasing inflation.
As inflation persists, , the prices of non-food and non-energy goods have continued to rise. According to Forbes staff reporter Derek Saul, “The arguably more important measure of core inflation, which excludes price changes in the often volatile food and energy categories, increased 3.3% year-over-year in January, higher than forecasts of 3.1%.” The cost of goods is rising at a faster pace than experts had predicted. .
Inflation has been rising since Trump returned as president, despite pledges of rapidly reducing prices. Trump said high prices on goods were a worry of the past and something that will be fixed. According to Elisabeth Buchwald, a CNN reporter, Trump said, ¨They’re going to be affording their groceries very soon.¨ This comment came on Thursday,Dec. 12 right before ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Also, in August of 2024, Trump had a press conference relating to information on inflation. According to Alicia Wallace, a CNN reporter, Trump said, ¨When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on day one.¨ Now, weeks after the election, prices of goods have not gone down, but continue to rise.
Since Trump returned to the White House on Jan. 20, he has planned multiple tariff ideas. According to economists, these tariffs have the possibility of raising prices on everything. Earlier this week, Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum that could raise prices for everything under industrial products. According to Max Zahn, a reporter for ABC News, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social saying, ¨BIDEN INFLATION UP.¨ Trump is suggesting that it was former president Joe Biden’s fault for the current state of inflation..
As inflation continues to grow, experts believe this is a problem that will worsen before it improves. With Trump back in office, he has promised to have prices on goods go down since day one, but that has yet to happen.
