GAS. GROCERIES. RENT. HEALTHCARE. COSTS ARE UP — WE’RE ON IT.
Right now, the rising cost of living is the defining issue for families in America, regardless of their politics.
Families are feeling squeezed by how much it costs to fill up the gas tank, stock the fridge for a week, see a doctor, buy a house or pay rent, and run the A/C.
Today an average American family of four with marketplace insurance is in the red after paying for necessities – with more than $1000 less at the end of the month than they had 18 months ago.
IN THE NEWS
THE HEALTHCARE COST CAP
Our latest healthcare brief unveiled new national polling and a novel Healthcare Cost Cap — a monthly out-of-pocket cost cap — that could apply across employer plans, Medicare, and marketplace plans and be paid for by private sector pricing reforms without creating new fiscal burdens.
This short documentary from the Kitchen Table Project features real conversations with Americans from around the country about the growing crisis of out-of-pocket healthcare costs — and what can be done about it.
It has gotten harder to afford the basics over the last year and a half. Costs have gone up for healthcare, utilities, groceries, childcare, transportation, and kids’ gear, and take-home pay for most families hasn’t kept up.
We ran the numbers and it’s clear that policy actions since January 2025 are directly driving up the cost of living for working families. The math around family budgets is no longer adding up.
FAMILY BUDGETS ARE IN THE RED
OUR APPROACH
The Kitchen Table Project is bringing people together from different backgrounds, perspectives, and skillsets to surface the best policy ideas that would bring down costs that families are dealing with daily. We’re doing three things:
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We’re digging into what’s actually driving higher prices across the major buckets in a household budget. Understanding why costs are rising is the first step to bringing them down.
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We’re working to find the best policy ideas across the board and develop new ones to tackle the costs that matter most to Americans.
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We’re hearing directly from people across the country – across parties, regions, and backgrounds – about the costs they’re facing and the tradeoffs they’re making. And we’re using their feedback to inform our proposals.