Economy
Household finances and the policies behind them: Social Security, tariffs and refunds, interest rates, benefits and the agencies that run them.
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Most recently updated firstSep09
Trump Accounts: From the 2025 Tax Law to the July 2026 Launch and the Employer Matches
Trump Accounts began as an Invest America-backed proposal promoted by President Trump and business leaders, then became law on July 4, 2025. The program offers a $1,000 Treasury deposit to eligible children born from 2025 through 2028 if a parent elects to open an account, while families, employers and donors can make additional contributions; accounts launched for deposits and contributions on July 4, 2026.
Sep09
IEEPA Tariff Refunds: From the Supreme Court Ruling to the Console Lawsuits
President Trump used IEEPA in February and April 2025 to impose trafficking and reciprocal import tariffs. The Court of International Trade and the Federal Circuit held that IEEPA did not authorize them, and the Supreme Court affirmed 6-3 on February 20, 2026.
Sep09
Student Loans After SAVE: From the Court Block to the Repayment Assistance Plan
Federal repayment policy entered limbo after courts blocked the Biden administration’s SAVE plan in 2024, placing roughly eight million enrollees into a zero-interest administrative forbearance. The Eighth Circuit’s 2025 ruling broadened the injunction, disrupted income-driven repayment processing, and was followed by a final judgment in 2026 ending SAVE; interest had already resumed for borrowers in the forbearance in August 2025.
Sep09
Social Security's Next Raise: From the 2.5% COLA to the 2027 Announcement
Social Security’s 2025 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) was 2.5%, followed by a 2.8% increase for 2026; the latter was partly offset for many retirees by a nearly 10% rise in the standard Medicare Part B premium. The 2027 COLA has not been set: after July CPI-W data, outside forecasts ranged from 3.4% to 3.6%, with August and September inflation readings still to determine the official adjustment.
Sep09
The Fed's Rate Path: From the 2024 Cuts to Warsh's First Meetings
The Fed began easing in September 2024 with a half-point cut after holding rates at 5.25 to 5.5 percent for 14 months, then made two further cuts that year. It paused through most of 2025, slowed balance-sheet runoff in March, resumed cutting in September, and reached a 3.5 to 3.75 percent target range in December 2025; that range has held through five 2026 meetings.
Sep09
Who Cut Jobs When: A Register of Major U.S. Layoffs, 2025 to 2026
The register begins in January 2025 with Meta’s plan to remove roughly 5% of staff as low performers, then tracks large cuts across technology, retail, media, transportation, energy and government. Challenger, Gray & Christmas counted 1.2 million announced U.S.
Sep09
Medicare Advantage's Retreat: From the 2026 Rate Hike to the 2027 Plan Exits and Open Enrollment
CMS began this cycle by raising 2026 Medicare Advantage payments 5.06%, but plans then faced higher medical costs, risk-adjustment enforcement, and sharp pressure on 2027 bids. CMS’s final 2027 update of 2.48% was materially higher than its near-flat proposal, yet still below the prior year’s update and below cost trends cited by insurers; UnitedHealthcare and Humana have responded with benefit changes and plan exits affecting large numbers of members.
