Rising Costs This Holiday Season Leave Michigan Families Struggling to Afford Thanksgiving, Holiday Spending, and Healthcare

As families prepare for the holiday season, they're facing unprecedented costs that are making it harder to celebrate. Energy and grocery costs remain elevated this Thanksgiving, tariffs have driven up the price of holiday decorations, toys, and goods, and at the end of the year, ACA premium tax credits are set to expire—meaning hundreds more per month in healthcare costs for over 50,000 residents across Michigan's 7th and 10th Districts.

"This holiday season feels different than it used to," said MI-07 resident Sheila Kniffin "Tariffs have made everything more expensive—people are buying fewer gifts this year because they just can't afford it. And just when we think we've made it through the holidays, people are facing the reality that our healthcare premiums are about to skyrocket in January. Hundreds of dollars more every month for healthcare. How are families supposed to manage that? We're already stretched thin, it doesn’t have to be this way."

The Republican Tax Law, which both Congressman Tom Barrett (MI-07) and Congressman John James (MI-10) voted for, prioritized making massive tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations permanent instead of making health care affordable for people. 

"This holiday season has been one of the hardest families have faced in a while," Kniffin continued. "Rising costs, expensive groceries, tariffs making gifts unaffordable, and now the prospect of hundreds more for healthcare. It's too much. I want other families to know they're not alone, and I want them to learn more about what's happening and what we can do about it."