President Trump signs executive order to tackle inflation, but experts remain skeptical about its effectiveness.
Key Takeaways
- Trump signed an executive order for emergency price relief, focusing on housing, healthcare, and energy costs.
- The order declares a “national energy emergency” to expand U.S. oil and gas production.
- Economists are doubtful about the order’s ability to significantly reduce inflation.
- The order lacks specific implementation details, serving more as a statement of priorities.
- Public opinion is divided on whether these measures will effectively lower prices.
Trump’s Executive Action on Inflation
President Donald Trump has taken action to address the rising cost of living in America by signing an executive order aimed at providing emergency price relief. The order directs federal departments and agencies to take immediate steps to lower costs in key areas such as housing, healthcare, and energy. This move comes as inflation remains a significant concern for many Americans, despite recent declines from its peak in June 2022.
As part of this initiative, Trump declared a “national energy emergency” and signed an order to expand U.S. oil and gas production. The administration believes that increasing domestic energy production will help lower costs across the economy. Additionally, the order seeks to ease regulatory constraints that are believed to contribute to higher prices in various sectors.
Trump signed an Executive Order to address the cost of living that skyrocketed under the Biden/Harris administration pic.twitter.com/V8b9yAVqK1
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 21, 2025
Targeting Housing Costs
One of the key focus areas of Trump’s executive order is reducing housing costs and expanding the housing supply. The order aims to address regulatory requirements that are claimed to account for 25% of the cost of constructing a new home. By streamlining these regulations, the administration hopes to make housing more affordable for American families.
“President Trump understands that America is facing a housing affordability crisis and the only way out of this crisis is to remove barriers like unnecessary and costly regulations that are raising housing costs and preventing builders from building more attainable, affordable housing,” said Carl Harris of the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB).
The NAHB has released a 10-point housing plan to remove impediments to increasing the nation’s housing supply and looks forward to working with the Trump administration to enact policies that will allow builders to boost housing production and affordability.
Energy and Inflation
Trump’s executive order places significant emphasis on energy production as a means to combat inflation. The president stated, “The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices. And that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill.”
The administration’s focus on energy includes increasing Alaskan oil production for export, particularly to the Asia Pacific region. This move is intended to boost domestic production while also strengthening America’s global energy position.
Expert Opinions and Challenges
While the Trump administration is confident in the potential impact of these measures, some economic experts remain skeptical about the executive order’s capacity to decisively reduce inflation. They point to complex economic structures and persistent supply chain issues as significant obstacles to achieving substantial and sustained inflation control.
“Trump’s cost of living order fails to address the root causes of inflation, namely corporate profiteering and broken supply chains,” said Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive economic think tank. “This order is a talking point, not a plan.”
Marc Goldwein from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget noted that while the order may not solve or even reduce inflation directly, it could prompt agencies to think more critically about not worsening price increases and finding ways to bring them down. However, he emphasized that the order is primarily a statement of the administration’s priorities rather than an actual change in policy.
As the implementation of this executive order unfolds, Americans will be watching closely to see if these measures can deliver the promised relief from rising costs. The effectiveness of Trump’s approach to tackling inflation will likely be a key point of discussion in the ongoing national debate about economic policy and the cost of living.
