OPEN THE RECORD.
Measure the policy by what it does to people. Read the evidence, the response and the limits before making your judgment.
Browse the record → Challenge an account →COMMON PORCH · START WITH YOUR LIFE
YOUR LIFE.
YOUR BILLS.
HIS POLICIES.
The grocery receipt. The gas pump. The prescription you need. The education you’re trying to pay for. Public power reaches your life through ordinary bills—and through the care or opportunity you can no longer afford.
Start with what changed. Then ask which decisions helped cause it, who benefited and what the evidence supports.
Sources checked October 11, 2026. Dates appear beside each measure. National averages, policy projections and individual bills are different things. The latest CPI checked is August; the September release is scheduled for October 14.
MEASURED · AUGUST 2026 · YEAR OVER YEAR
YOUR PAYCHECK.
THE CHECKOUT.
+3.4%
BLS reports consumer prices 3.4% higher than a year earlier. That measures an average basket, not your exact household bill. Slower inflation would mean prices rise more slowly; it would not erase earlier increases.
THE POLICY CONNECTION
New York Fed researchers estimate the 2025–26 tariffs added 2.9 percentage points to inflation for the non-oil consumer goods in their sample by February 2026. This is a research estimate, not the tariff share of the entire CPI.
MEASURED · GROCERIES · AUGUST 2026 · YEAR OVER YEAR
THE GROCERY BILL.
+2.2%
Food at home cost 2.2% more than a year earlier; meals away from home rose 3.4%. Grocery prices were unchanged over August. Household purchases differ, so this is not a price claim about every item.
THE POLICY CONNECTION
Import tariffs can raise the cost of food and supplies exposed to them. The overall grocery index alone does not isolate that effect from weather, supply conditions, labor or other causes. The tariff study compares more-exposed and less-exposed goods; it does not establish that Trump caused every grocery increase.
MEASURED · U.S. REGULAR GASOLINE · OCTOBER 26, 2026
THE DRIVE TO WORK.
$4.269 / GALLON
EIA’s national average was $1.234 above a year earlier, but $0.015 below the previous week. At 50 gallons a month, that year-over-year difference would mean $61.70 more a month for the same fuel volume, or about $740 over a year. This illustration is not a forecast of your bill.
THE POLICY CONNECTION
EIA’s October outlook links fuel-market pressure to higher crude prices, refining margins and constrained Middle East oil flows amid hostilities. The price series does not isolate the cost of a particular presidential decision. A separate war-policy record is needed before assigning a precise share to Trump.
2026 · STANDARD MEDICARE PART B PREMIUM
THE DOCTOR.
THE INSURANCE BILL.
$202.90 / MONTH
The standard Part B premium is $202.90 in 2026, compared with $185 in 2025: $17.90 more a month. Some people pay different amounts. For eligible HealthCare.gov enrollees, CMS projected the lowest-cost plan after tax credits at $50 a month—$13 above 2025, but $20 below 2020. These are different insurance populations.
THE POLICY CONNECTION
Premiums, deductibles and eligibility rules affect whether care is affordable. The enhanced federal ACA tax credits expired at the end of 2025; the original credits remain for eligible households. CMS’s benchmark example for a 50-year-old at twice the poverty level shows credits covering 81% of premiums in 2026, versus 93% in 2025. This does not establish that all premium increases come from one policy.
Check Medicare costs ↗ · Read the subsidy-expiration notice ↗ · Read Marketplace prices ↗
PROJECTION · HEALTH COVERAGE · CBO SEPTEMBER 18, 2025
WHEN THE COVERAGE
IS GONE.
COVERAGE IS A POLICY CHOICE.
A premium someone cannot afford is a barrier to care. Going without insurance can leave the household responsible for more of the bill. The amount depends on the treatment, provider, available assistance and coverage; there is no honest single national price for “no healthcare.”
THE POLICY CONNECTION
CBO estimated that permanently extending the enhanced ACA credits would cover 3.8 million more people in 2035 than its baseline. It estimated that repealing the reconciliation law’s Marketplace provisions would cover 2.9 million more. These are separate policy projections, not observed losses today; they should not be added as if their effects cannot overlap.
Read CBO’s coverage estimates ↗ · See how benefit changes affect households ↗
2026 · MEDICARE PART D · COVERED-DRUG OUT-OF-POCKET CAP
THE PRESCRIPTION
YOU NEED.
$2,100 / YEAR
The cap for covered Part D medicines is $2,100 in 2026, up from $2,000 in 2025. Premiums and uncovered medicines are not included. BLS’s prescription-drug index was unchanged in August. Neither fact tells us what happened to the price of your particular medicine.
THE POLICY CONNECTION
The Inflation Reduction Act established drug negotiation and the cap. CMS’s first ten negotiated prices took effect January 1, 2026. Those protections belong in the account alongside cost increases. A claim that a specific medicine is “skyrocketing” needs its dated price, insurance terms and a comparison for that same medicine.
Read the cap explanation ↗ · Read the negotiated-price record ↗ · Check the prescription price index ↗
2025–26 · PUBLIC FOUR-YEAR · IN-STATE TUITION AND FEES
THE PRICE OF
AN EDUCATION.
$11,950 / YEAR
College Board reports average published tuition and fees of $11,950, up $340 (2.9%) before inflation. Housing and other costs are additional. This is sticker price, not the amount paid after grants; the report also shows lower inflation-adjusted net tuition than earlier peaks.
THE POLICY CONNECTION
For borrowers without a transition exception, Education Department guidance implements the end of new Grad PLUS loans from July 1, 2026, new graduate/professional aggregate limits, and a $65,000 Parent PLUS limit per dependent student. Financing restrictions can change how families pay. They are not proof that Trump alone set colleges’ tuition.
Read tuition and net-price data ↗ · Read loan-policy changes ↗
POLICY & LEGAL RECORD
TARIFFS DON’T STOP
AT THE BORDER.
New York Fed researchers find that higher import costs reach U.S. consumers directly and through producers’ costs and pricing. The administration’s policy must be judged against those household costs, as well as its stated economic aims.
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court held that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. That ruling concerns a particular asserted legal authority; it does not invalidate every tariff or constitute a criminal conviction.
In its July 2025 estimate, CBO projected that the reconciliation law would add $3.4 trillion to deficits over 2025–2034, with $4.5 trillion less revenue and $1.1 trillion less direct spending. Those are estimates against a stated baseline, not dollars already spent or a complete verdict on the economy. Its household analysis includes tax benefits as well as reductions in Medicaid and SNAP resources.
Read the tariff cost research ↗ · Read the Supreme Court decision ↗ · Read CBO’s budget estimate ↗ · Compare household effects ↗
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE · FACTS AND LIMITS
PUBLIC POLICY.
PRIVATE INCOME.
Trump’s 2026 disclosure hosted by the Office of Government Ethics lists $236,250,000 in net proceeds from World Liberty Financial token sales under DT Marks Defi LLC. The relevant schedule also reports equity-sale and cryptocurrency-wallet proceeds separately. We have not combined those lines into a claim about Trump’s personal net profit.
His January 23, 2025 executive order directs support for digital assets and dollar-backed stablecoins. These records document reported business receipts and public policy in the same sector. They do not isolate the income caused by that order, establish a corrupt exchange, or show tariff receipts paid personally to Trump.
Disclosure check: Schedule 1 for Part 2, line 124 and sublines; PDF page 855, printed schedule page 8 of 23. Narrow text inspection only, not a read of the entire filing or an audit of bank records.
Read the financial disclosure ↗ · Read the digital-assets order ↗
COUNTERPOINT · EDITORIAL COMMENTARY
WHO BENEFITS
FROM THE POWER?
A president’s business stake in a sector his administration promotes warrants scrutiny. Follow the money and the decisions. Report a documented benefit plainly; establish the connection before alleging a payoff or a crime.