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.
In addition to putting the healthcare of hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians at risk, the changes to Medicaid are expected to negatively impact rural hospitals, potentially leading to the closure of some health clinics in rural communities across the country.
For storm-ravaged communities, little has changed. Aid has been slow, and Whatley has been largely absent from the disaster zone, with Smoky Mountain News reporting that Whatley has “rarely, if ever” visited the area. Records show the FEMA council has met only twice in seven months, totaling about three hours.
For North Carolina, the cuts proposed in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act are projected to erase $32 billion in Medicaid funding over the next decade, along with food assistance, funding for public schools, and clean energy tax credits.
“I can’t charge $30 for a chocolate bar, I can’t raise your price three times and leave us in this weird spot where we have to switch our business,” Sam Ratto, owner of Videri Chocolate in downtown Raleigh, told ABC 11.
“We’re in the worst hunger crisis that we’ve seen in nearly 20 years and with SNAP cuts that have been passed at the federal level, we’re going to see that spike in a way that we can’t fill the gap up,” Amy Beros, CEO of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, told NC Newsline.
When the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed Congress, Marilyn Maddocks felt a mix of dread and disbelief. The 68-year-old Boone resident, who relies on food assistance to help make ends meet, told the News & Observer that this law is “the cruelest thing I’ve ever seen America do.”
Nearly one million North Carolinians who rely on ACA health plans are bracing for a costly one-two punch next year: major premium hikes and the loss of federal subsidies that have kept coverage affordable, according to WRAL.