Next week is Thanksgiving, but for countless American families the holidays are going to feel a little more stressful this year.
As Mitchell Zimmerman notes, inflation, alas, is back. He describes how President Trump’s tariffs and mass deportations have driven grocery prices to record highs, among other rising costs for families, who will feel the pinch as they set their Thanksgiving tables and prepare to do holiday shopping.
Those rising prices unfortunately coincide with the onset of the “Big Beautiful Bill’s” cuts to SNAP — which as Reyanna James noted last week, are still going into in effect despite the immediate standoff over SNAP being supposedly resolved with the end of the shutdown. This week, Lousindy Mitton describes the double whammy she experienced of being forced to rely on SNAP after being dismissed from her federal job, only to then confront those benefits being cut too.
Yet the administration apparently hasn’t learned its lesson. After threatening SNAP in this shutdown, they’re now threatening to pull the plug on transit funding in future fights. As LeeAnn Hall notes this week, that may be a politically motivated attack on big cities like New York with robust transit systems. But she argues the biggest victims will be transit users in smaller cities and rural areas.
We will be off for Thanksgiving next week but will return with a new package of op-eds afterward. Thanks for reading and happy Thanksgiving from all of us at OtherWords and IPS!
New This Week…
Welcome Back, Inflation! | Mitchell Zimmerman
President Trump’s mass deportations and tariffs are making life unaffordable for millions of Americans.
Less for Health Care, More for the Pentagon | Lindsay Koshgarian
Even with U.S. health premiums set to double, senators gave essential health funds as a bonus to the $1 trillion Pentagon.
Protect Our Public Servants — and the Social Safety Net | Lousindy Mitton
Federal policies are hurting public servants, families, and children to slash taxes for billionaires. We deserve better.
The Government Is Open. Now It Needs to Get America Moving — Literally. | LeeAnn Hall
President Trump is now threatening federal transit funding — which could hit small urban and rural transit agencies hardest.
In Case You Missed It…
Even with the Shutdown Ending, Millions Will Lose Food Aid | Reyanna James
The GOP budget bill passed earlier this year includes the largest cuts to SNAP in history. And those cuts are starting now.
Without Medicaid, Many Rural Americans Will Die | Marcia Dinkins
The attacks on Medicaid aren’t just policy choices — they’re signing people’s death certificates before they ever see a physician.
A Dangerous New Approach to Homelessness | Jeremy Saunders
The most effective approach to homelessness is simply to house people. But some states — and the White House — want to lock them up instead.
Mass Deportations Aren’t Helping Workers. They’re Tanking The Economy. | A.J. Schumann
Trump claimed immigrants were “taking your jobs.” But during his brutal crackdown, the job market has only gotten worse.
The post In OtherWords: November 20, 2025 appeared first on OtherWords.
