United Way Worldwide’s CEO Speaks to Washington Post about How Americans Are Worried about Affording the Necessities
Americans are worried about affording the necessities. Not dolls.
Thanks to tariff-induced inflation and cutbacks in social services, a “perfect storm” looms for people trying to make ends meet.
It’s not about dolls.
President Donald Trump has downplayed the financial impact of his trade policies on American consumers, suggesting that price increases would be minimal. “Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls,” he said during a recent Cabinet meeting. “And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”
However, the economic strain on U.S. households won’t be centered on families’ capacity to lavish gifts on their children or buy stuff they don’t need.
An economic decline, fueled by increasing prices, poses a significant threat to household necessities, including housing, utilities and groceries — and could lead to business contraction and job losses.
This growing risk is underscored by new data from United Way Worldwide, which provides support to 211. You might not even be familiar with this critical resource, a free service connecting people to local programs and resources.
The annual report from United Way highlights that financial instability is overwhelming the most fragile people in our communities.
United Way Worldwide’s president and chief executive, Angela F. Williams, told me that the 211 network is an essential part of America’s infrastructure because it’s a lifeline between people in need and the resources available to support them.
Last year, the 211 network responded to 16.8 million requests for help. The United Way report emphasizes this amounts to 32 calls, texts, or chats per minute. People were asking for assistance with basic needs, which mostly fell into three categories: housing assistance, utility bills and food.
In the case of housing support, the volume of referrals nearly doubled, from 2.9 million in 2019 to 5.6 million in 2024.
Local 211s “are dealing with calls from people because their landlords are literally increasing rents by 20, 30, 50 percent,” Williams said. “People who are on fixed income or seniors can’t meet those increased rents and then have to leave or are evicted.”
People who are on fixed income or seniors can’t meet those increased rents and then have to leave or are evicted.”
Think about these figures. The need was already significant, and now families face even greater hardship.
“I’m looking at the direction that the economy is taking and just extrapolating anecdotally that those needs will continue to exist if not be exacerbated,” Williams said. “It’s clear that as prices rise, there’s less disposable income that families have to use to meet their needs.”
The cost of housing for both renters and homeowners went up slightly in March, by 0.2 percent, compared to February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition found the United States has a shortage of 7.1 million affordable rental homes, resulting in only 35 affordable homes for every 100 households with extremely low-income renters. No state has an adequate supply of affordable and available rentals for the lowest-income households, according to the coalition.
As a result, three-quarters of these renters spend more than half of their income on rent. When such a high percentage of your income goes to housing, there isn’t much left to cover other expenses.
At the same time, the Trump administration has been dismantling government agencies whose mission has been to serve struggling families. Federal funds to nonprofits are being choked off or canceled. Programs to serve the poor are under attack.
Last month, for example, the entire staff administering the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program — which provides financial assistance to help people pay their heating and cooling bills — was fired as part of the federal workforce culling. The Trump administration wants to eliminate funding for the $4.1 billion program, which assists more than 6 million people through block grants to states.
Meanwhile, a Gallup poll conducted after Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs found a record-high 53 percent of Americans said their financial situation is worsening.
That bleak outlook can also be seen in reports like the New York Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Expectations, which it released this week. Consumer sentiment regarding current personal finances has deteriorated sharply since the tariff wars began.
The New York Federal Reserve has highlighted a troubling trend: more households now expect slower income growth, anticipate greater difficulty finding new employment if they lose their current jobs, and an increased risk of missing minimum payments on debts like credit cards, mortgages and student loans.
Yet against this backdrop of worsening economic fundamentals Trump focuses on the affordability of dolls to make a point about the trade imbalance with China. “They have ships that are loaded up with stuff ... much of which we don’t need,” he said.
Williams argues that the core problem lies not in discretionary spending but in systemic issues leading families into a state of significant financial distress, the effects of which could persist for generations.
She told me she sees a “perfect storm” if significant inflation due to tariffs coincides with government benefit reductions or eliminations — combined with defunded community groups and nonprofits supporting the most financially vulnerable.
After a brief pause, she corrected herself: “It’s the worst storm.”