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Business Daily

Business Daily

America's affordability question

20 January 2026

17 minutes

Available for over a year

In the second of two programmes, we look at Donald Trump's record on the economy one year into his second presidential term. Today, we are asking is the United States still facing a cost of living crunch?

Its economy - the largest in the world - is still growing faster than most others and the stock markets are hitting record highs, yet many Americans say they are still struggling to make ends meet. What's going on? We get the view from our North America business correspondent, Samira Hussain; a data scientist; an economist; and consumers from across the country.

If you'd like to get in touch with the team, our email address is [email protected]

Presenter: Rahul Tandon

Producer: Craig Henderson

Additional production (audio diaries): Niamh McDermott

(Picture: A woman walks down the aisle at the grocery store with her shopping cart looking at shelved goods. Credit: Getty Images)