Back to school this year will be genuinely brutal, thanks to Trump's chaotic economic policies.
We & @TCFdotorg did the math: The average price of going back to school this year?
$173 for supplies, $424 for clothes and shoes, and $3,800 for lunches.
As back-to-school season approaches, families will face higher prices for supplies and other costs for the upcoming academic year, a new analysis found.
As back-to-school season approaches, families will face higher prices for supplies and other costs for the upcoming academic year, a new analysis found.
Higher prices this back to school season are squeezing families who have been battered by price hikes over the past year and a half. @The19thNews spoke with one mom about her experience:
While grocery prices are rising, 1.5 million kids have lost food assistance benefits since Republicans passed their budget law.
Hungry kids are more likely to get lower test scores & repeat grades.
New from us & @TCFdotorg: That's just the start of parents' budgeting woes.
k-shaped economy discourse strong in the past 2 weeks' earnings calls!
As if families weren't bearing enough, the cost of back to school supplies have soared again this year.
Our new analysis with @Groundwork shows Trump's tariffs, rising oil prices, and cuts to food assistance are making this school year more expensive for working families.
🚨New from us and @TCFdotorg: Packing lunch for your kid will cost roughly $400 MORE this school year than it did last year.
Per. Child.
Half of parents are cutting back on other household expenses just to keep up.
Back to school prices — from blueberries to notebooks — are up this year. 50% of parents are taking on debt to buy school supplies, & 1.5M kids lost their food assistance.
@owenslindsay1: "The work is getting harder of providing for your family."
@19thnews with the scoop:
NEW: The 2026–27 school year will cost families nearly $4,000 per child — nearly 11% more than last year.
New analysis from @Groundwork and TCF shows rising prices for school supplies, groceries, clothing, and transportation are squeezing families: https://tcf.org/content/commentary/as-students-head-back-to-school-families-face-11-price-hikes/
This thread is excellent - but it’s somehow worse than you can imagine.
What Trump is doing here is betting against Americans in the stock market.
Let us explain how he’s doing this 👇
1. Trump does so much crazy, corrupt shit that things can get lost. Last week, Trump embarked on what might be his most brazenly corrupt scheme yet, and it got far too little attention. Here's what you need to know:
Out from @Groundwork & @TCFdotorg this morning:
This back to school season, families are in store for high prices. Stocking backpacks and packing lunches will cost nearly $4,000 per child this school year, as prices are up 11% over last year.
As a former public school teacher, I know how much families already sacrifice to get kids ready for school. This year, they'll pay 10.7% more than last year just to send a child back to class. Proud to co-author this analysis with @Groundwork and @TCFdotorg
Back to school shopping this year is going to HURT.
New analysis from us & @TCFdotorg:
📒 A typical basket of school supplies is up 7.7%.
🥪School lunches will cost ~$400 MORE over the course of the school year.
Total cost per kid: $4,000.
Walmart's leaders announced the number of users for their AI shopping bot, "Sparky," jumped by 100% in the last quarter alone. The same Sparky that drove customers to spend 35% MORE than average.
“It’s been a little surprising to me that there hasn’t been more conversation about
I enjoyed talking with @samjsutton for this incredibly important @politico story in MM, but loved reading it. @MarkWarner is clearly fired up about the potential harms of agentic commerce for consumers. This is a trillion dollar industry by 2030–Google has a Warner problem.
