Why is everything so expensive? Prices are still climbing. Over the year ending in September 2026, consumer prices rose 3.7%, and gasoline rose 34.2%.[1] In a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken in early October 2026, 54% of Americans said their costs had gone up "a lot" in the past year.[2] Congress can't fix every price. But there are three things it can do right away, and all three are about who gets to reach into your pocket.
Take tariff power back
Tariffs are taxes on things we buy from other countries, and they get passed on to us. The Yale Budget Lab estimates the tariffs now in place cost the average household about $1,100 a year.[3] The Tax Foundation puts it at $820 per household.[4] Either way, it's a tax increase on regular families that Congress never voted on directly.
The Constitution gives the power to set tariffs to Congress, not the president.[5] In February 2026 the Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA, the emergency law the president had used, does not authorize him to impose tariffs. The Court's official summary of the decision puts it plainly: "The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch."[5] The administration simply switched to other trade laws and kept going.[3] Congress should rewrite those laws so that any tariff lasting more than a short emergency window needs a vote of Congress, out in the open, where you can see who voted for your higher prices.
Ban surveillance pricing
Some companies now set prices person by person. In January 2025 the Federal Trade Commission reported that middlemen hired by retailers use data like a person's precise location, browser history and even mouse movements to "algorithmically tweak and target their prices."[6] That means two people can be shown different prices for the same thing. Maryland has already banned it at grocery stores, according to a law firm tracking these laws.[7] Congress should ban it everywhere.
Outlaw price gouging
When a storm, a war or a supply shock hits, nobody should get to treat it as a payday. The Congressional Progressive Caucus has proposed cracking down on corporate price gouging.[8] Pass a national ban with real penalties.
The objection: "Tariffs protect American jobs"
This plank doesn't say the country can never use tariffs. It says Congress decides, the way the Constitution says it should, and has to own the cost. If a tariff is worth $820 to $1,100 a year from the average household, the people who want it should be willing to vote for it.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, September 2026, released October 14, 2026. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
- Reuters/Ipsos poll, September 30 to October 5, 2026, as reported by FOX 5 DC. https://www.fox5dc.com/news/americans-blame-trump-rising-costs-poll
- The Budget Lab at Yale, "State of U.S. Tariffs," August 24, 2026. https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/state-us-tariffs
- Tax Foundation, "Trump Tariffs: Tracking the Economic Impact of the Trump Trade War," updated September 10, 2026. https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/trump-tariffs-trade-war/
- Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, Supreme Court of the United States, February 20, 2026 (Cornell Legal Information Institute). https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/24-1287
- Federal Trade Commission, surveillance pricing study press release, January 17, 2025. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/ftc-surveillance-pricing-study-indicates-wide-range-personal-data-used-set-individualized-consumer
- Crowell & Moring, "Surveillance Pricing Update," 2026. https://www.crowell.com/en/insights/client-alerts/surveillance-pricing-update-californias-sweeping-ab-2564-passes-assembly-and-heads-to-senate
- Congressional Progressive Caucus, "Progressive Caucus Announces New Affordability Agenda," April 29, 2026. https://progressives.house.gov/2026/4/progressive-caucus-announces-new-affordability-agenda