Employment Rates Scandal Impacts Jobs

Rania Suleiman, section editor

The economy flourished during the Baby Boom generation, and now, the U.S. is 37 trillion dollars in debt. Flourishing economies mean higher cash flow which makes debt more manageable. All this debt will not be repaid by itself, so that’s where inflation comes into play. Inflation is the rate at which general levels for goods and services start rising. The U.S. owes money to many foreign countries. They owe the most money to Japan, the U.K. and China. New laws and expensive projects have been put into action by President Donald Trump, causing the U.S. to accumulate more debt; this begs the question: will inflation continue to get worse? 

The U.S. has an import reliance of 50 percent, demonstrating how much the U.S. depends on other countries for goods. China imports 16.5 percent, Mexico is 14.4 percent and Canada is 12.7 percent. When these foreign countries raise their import prices, the U.S. citizens must pay more for these goods.  

Products and services can become high demand and increase the available supply; this causes the prices to rise because consumers are willing to pay more to get what they want. If a supply chain gets disrupted it can cause massive inflation increases. Supply chains can get disrupted by labor shortages, shipping delays and natural disasters.  

Geopolitical events also play a role in unhealthy inflation. For example, the war in Ukraine has caused inflation to increase by 15.9 percent since their energy powerplants were destroyed. 

“The federal reserve says a healthy amount of inflation is between 2 to 2.5 percent,” said Mr. Jocham, who teaches economics. 

Presidential and government spending, which causes higher cost of living, have made an impact of the day to day lives of American citizens. On April 5, 2025, President Trump announced a ten percent baseline tariff on all imports, these were put in order, so the U.S. does not rely heavily on other goods. Tariffs are simply taxed on imported goods. China was hit with an additional 10 percent baseline tariff while Canada and Mexico were hit with 25 percent.  This increases the costs for consumers and reduces the availability of goods and services. For business managers, they have higher production costs and reduced exports when other countries may retaliate. 

Inflation affects everyone, from big companies to high school students. Over the years, school lunches have increased by three percent. On June 4, 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed the National School Lunch Act which provided free school lunches for students in public and non-profit private schools. It was built during the Progressive Era and Great Depression. This program is in trouble because inflation drove up rising food and labor costs. It also became pricey for children who pack their own lunches due to supply shortages. 

“Not all prices hit everybody. If you own a house, there’s a huge chunk that doesn’t apply to you. If you’re a vegan, these rising meat prices won’t affect you at all. Each person has their own personal inflation gauge,” says Mr. Jocham. 

The U.S. get their oil from both domestic production and imports. Canada is their biggest source of crude oil along with Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Brazil. The U.S. processes and extracts 60 percent of oil on their homeland soil. Gasoline causes a direct impact on inflation since it's an energy index within the Consumer Price Index that measures the price of energy related goods and services, this also measures inflation. In 2022, gasoline prices reached over five dollars per gallon which made the inflation rate rise 9.1 percent that year. When gasoline becomes scarce due to the high prices, it can affect transportation costs for businesses, also affecting teenagers since they are getting their licenses and first cars. Many teens must pay for their own gas but often make minimum wage which makes paying for gas a struggle. Adults who have long commutes to work every day are affected by these prices too when they are refilling their tanks every two days. 

“Inflation is the number for all the prices in the United States together, but each person is affected differently based on their personal consumption,” says Mr. Jocham. 

As inflation continues to increase, Americans are wondering when prices will start to lower. It all depends on tariffs, foreign countries’ cooperation and supply. Whatever happens in the future, people will continue to be impacted by inflation.