Donald Trump promised Americans he would lower prices. Still, just months into 2025, the economic chaos he’s created has sent costs soaring as the stock market plummets, fueling fears of global recession. Trump’s tariffs are an attack on American families, with studies showing that households will suffer a loss of $3,800 on average. Here’s how the economic chaos Trump is causing is affecting Wisconsinites.
• Trump’s tariffs will increase food costs by increasing transportation costs and fertilizer costs, as the majority of U.S. fertilizer is imported from Canada.
• Economists predict that low-income households will bear the brunt of higher costs from tariffs, setting them back even further as large retailers like Target, Walmart, and Best Buy plan to increase their prices to compensate for higher costs.
• Trump’s tariffs will raise electricity costs by increasing the price of steel and aluminum needed for energy infrastructure like pipelines and transformers, which will likely lead utility companies to raise their rates for customers.
Since Trump took office, gas prices across the U.S. have risen by an average of 3.27%, or 10 cents/gallon.
• Since Trump has taken office, gas prices in Wisconsin have risen by 6.58%. On January 19, 2025, gas prices in Wisconsin were $2.932/gallon, and on April 1, 2025, gas prices were $3.125/gallon.
As he sends costs skyrocketing, Trump laid off the entire staff of a critical federal program that helps low-income Americans pay their heating and cooling bills.
• In fiscal year 2023, Wisconsin received more than $164 million in LIHEAP funding, which served 189,941 households. That includes 186,017 households receiving heating assistance with reported average benefits of $696 per household, and 25,050 households receiving year-round crisis assistance with reported average benefits of $701. In FY2024, Wisconsin’s LIHEAP received $111,304,914 in LIHEAP funding.
If Trump really cared about bringing back American manufacturing, he would be investing in clean energy. Instead, Wisconsinites are paying the price for the economic chaos Trump is creating—at the pump, at the grocery store, and on their utility bills.