To the Editor:
President Donald Trump campaigned on promises to lower costs for everyday Americans, yet his policies will absolutely drive expenses higher.
Take prescription prices: while Trump pledged to reduce them, his administration’s deregulatory approach and coziness with pharmaceutical companies risk leaving residents, especially seniors, paying more. Similarly, his tariffs on imports act as hidden taxes, raising the cost of electronics, furniture, cars, and clothing. For some Snohomish families already managing tight budgets, these increases will hit hard.
Food and housing costs had increased after COVID, but had begun to stabilize and inflation was down to 2.9% in 2024. Trump’s hardline immigration policies will disrupt agricultural labor and the construction trades, driving up prices for produce and new homes. Locally, where agriculture is a backbone of our economy and housing affordability is a concern, these effects will be impossible to ignore.
Meanwhile, insurance premiums are soaring as climate-related disasters like wildfires, hurricanes and floods have become more frequent. Yet Trump is dismantling efforts to combat climate change, leaving communities of all sizes increasingly vulnerable.
Trump promised to ease financial burdens but is enacting policies that raise prices.
If he truly cared about affordability, he’d focus on meaningful solutions instead of policies that leave Snohomish residents paying the price.
Perhaps he could ask his billionaire buddies to lower the price of Teslas, iPhones, and everything at Amazon! But he won’t.
Mark Rohde
Snohomish
