Furniture for America, a trade group led by the Home Furnishings Alliance in High Point, responded to the announcement in a detailed letter to the Trump administration. The letter explains the concerns of industry leaders that these tariffs would not only fail to strengthen the US furniture industry but actually damage it further.
Since last Wednesday, over 140,000 North Carolinians have not received paychecks. During previous shutdowns, Americans being forced to work without pay has led to a rise in worker absences, and some have left government service altogether.
Cooper described what will be a “nasty shock” for North Carolinians on November 1st, when the ACA Marketplace begins open enrollment for next year. “They’re about to be notified that their health insurance premiums are going through the roof. Because insurance companies are raising their premiums on top of federal subsidies not being renewed by Congress in this ‘big, beautiful bill.’”
According to an analysis from Energy Innovation, the OBBBA would drive up the average household energy costs by $220 in 2030 and nearly $490 in 2035. In addition, the federal bill is expected to cut over 41,000 jobs from North Carolina’s workforce in 2030 and another 32,000 jobs by 2035.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, President Trump’s signature budget bill, will lead to higher energy costs and a stifled clean energy industry in North Carolina, according to clean energy experts.
Speakers at the convention raised the alarm over the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal workers, its attacks against collective bargaining, and the potential privatization of veterans’ health care. They called for solidarity among workers, saying that unions must present a united front or risk losing hard-fought worker protections and many of their jobs entirely.
As part of a national movement to “demand a fully funded and fully staffed VA”, nurses and union supporters voiced their concerns about the recent changes outside of Senator Ted Budd’s Wilmington office.
North Carolina businesses are feeling the pressure of President Trump’s tariffs. As businesses deal with rising costs, they are passing some of those costs onto consumers, who are now seeing higher prices on everything from coffee to guitars.
The task force comes on the heels of the Republican-led state legislature passing, over Stein’s veto, a new law that allows utility giant Duke Energy to increase costs for residential customers, as well as indications that the Trump administration plans to eliminate federal tax credits and other funds for renewable energy projects in North Carolina.
A top state health administrator warned recently that North Carolina faces myriad expensive challenges that could mean more hunger, untreated illnesses, and financial strain for families across the state, according to NC Newsline.