Responses

Are prices down from last year? I'll pull the latest year-over-year inflation and store price data to compare. No — on average, prices in stores are still higher than a year ago, but inflation - the rate of price increase - has slowed. Latest official data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Over the 12 months ended July 2026, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 3.

Short answer: generally no. On average, prices in U.S. stores are modestly higher than a year ago. - Overall consumer prices rose 3.4% year over year in July 2026 (vs. July 2025). ([bls.gov](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.htm)) - Grocery prices (“food at home”) were up 2.7% year over year. ([bls.gov](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.htm)) - Retail goods excluding food and energy (“commo

Short answer: it depends on what you care about. Here’s a neutral snapshot as of September 11, 2026, plus the trade-offs people cite. What looks better - Jobs: Unemployment is low by historical standards (4.1% in August 2026). ([bls.gov](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit09042026.htm?utmsource=openai)) - Crime: The FBI reports a historically large drop in violent crime in 2025, with

No, not automatically or across the board, but it would tighten labor markets and cause shortages or higher costs in specific sectors, with adjustments over time via wages, automation, participation, and demand effects. The answer depends on the scale and type of immigration stopped (all net migration vs. illegal/low-skill only), time horizon, sectors, and accompanying policies. Economics shows la

[[1]](https://www.bls.gov/cpi/latest-numbers.htm)[[2]](https://www.supermarketnews.com/grocery-trends-data/price-of-everyday-goods-drops-for-second-straight-month)[[3]](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CARTSPY)No, overall prices in stores are generally not lower than a year ago—they are higher, though the pace of increases has slowed compared to peak inflation periods, some individual items cost