Wednesday, June 4, 2025
All civic learning topics for this day
Today's Topics
CBO ties tariffs to 0.4% inflation bump
On June 4, 2025, the Congressional Budget Office reported that President Trump's tariffs in place as of May 13, 2025 will raise inflation by an average of 0.4 percentage points in 2025 and 2026, reducing household purchasing power and adding roughly $158 per month—or about $1,896 annually—to U.S. households. CBO projects these tariffs will cut the federal deficit by $2.8 trillion over the next decade but shrink real GDP by 0.6 percent by 2035. The analysis assumes near-full pass-through of tariff rates to import prices—academic research finds about 95 percent pass-through within a year—though consumer prices show a more modest impact. Retailers warn tariffs could cost consumers between $46 billion and $78 billion in lost spending power annually. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen argued tariffs are reducing the U.S. trade deficit and generating revenue for American workers.
Labor Department rescinds Davis-Bacon prevailing wage for federal contractors
President Trump eliminated the $17.75 minimum wage for federal contract workers, potentially cutting pay for hundreds of thousands of private sector employees. By tearing up a Biden-era executive order that set a minimum wage for workers on federal contracts, the Trump administration has made some private sector workers vulnerable to pay cuts of up to 25 percent.