President Trump made a wide range of promises to American voters during the campaign. Will he deliver? As with every president, now that he has been elected, the voters need to hold him accountable for whether he meets those promises or not.
Many of his most important promises to voters relate to the cost of living and the economy. For many Americans, economic issues determined who they voted for. Each of us has the ability to track whether President Trump is meeting his economic promises based on our own individual circumstances.
President Trump promised “to lower your energy costs by 50 percent within one year ” and to lower gasoline prices “below $2 a gallon.” (This promise does not factor in the environmental and health costs that will be caused by his “drill, baby, drill” strategy.)
On Inauguration Day, I paid $3.099 for a gallon of regular at Smith’s Kimball Junction. For my January bills, Enbridge Gas charged $8.84642 per DTH for home heating and Rocky Mountain Power charged $0.1037250 per kwh (Energy Charge Winter Block 2) for electricity. I plan to compare what I’m paying then to what I’m paying now to see how President Trump is doing on keeping this promise. I encourage others to do the same.
President Trump also promised that “starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again.” As of November 2024, the last month for which inflation data is available, the Consumer Price Index had increased by 2.7 % over the previous 12 months. It will be easy to track President Trump’s progress on that promise on a monthly basis.
He also promised to get grocery prices down. On Inauguration Day, I paid $3.59 for a gallon of whole milk, $7.89 for a dozen eggs (Grade A jumbo) and $4.49 for a loaf of multi-grain bread. We can all track the price of key grocery items.
As a retiree receiving Social Security benefits, I will follow with great interest President Trump’s promise that “there will be no tax on Social Security.” Millions of Americans depend on the Affordable Care Act for their health care. They presumably will closely follow whether President Trump meets his promise to make the Affordable Care Act “much better, stronger, and far less expensive.”
Our children are America’s future. Every parent knows the cost of bringing up our children as best we can. President Trump has promised to expand the child tax credit.
He also promised to put “a temporary cap on credit card interest rates at 10%.” Even a temporary 10% cap would be welcome at a time when it’s hard to find rates below 20%.
Will President Trump deliver on these promises? Will his actions benefit Americans’ pocketbooks? As the saying goes, elections matter. And so should keeping election promises.
Ed Rutan
Pinebrook