Between the Lines
04/29/2026
What’s widely known as the ‘affordability crisis,’ describes the plight of more than half of Americans who struggle every day to afford the basic necessities of life: food, housing, healthcare, education and transportation. Early in Donald Trump’s second term, the tariffs he imposed on nations around the world triggered a significant rise in inflation here at home. The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran launched on Feb. 28 closing down the Strait of Hormuz has driven up gas and utility costs, while increasing food prices and mortgage rates.
But last year, before the war, the Republican-controlled Congress passed Trump’s federal budget bill that cut taxes for the nation’s wealthiest families and profitable corporations while slashing millions of Americans’ access to health insurance and food assistance. At the same, time billions more taxpayer dollars were allocated to the Pentagon and Trump’s ICE mass deportation campaign.
The National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies has released its annual Tax Receipt report, which found that during 2025, the average U.S. taxpayer paid more than $4,000 to the Pentagon, veterans programs and ICE secret police mass deportation enforcement — while contributing only $2,500 for Medicaid. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Lindsay Koshgarian, program director with the National Priorities Project, who summarizes the findings of her group’s “Tax Day 2026” report.
Listen to the full interview here.
