MADISON, Wis. – As families prepare their Thanksgiving menus this year, new data shows how tariffs are sending prices soaring and giving Wisconsin families sticker shock at the checkout this week.
- Wisconsin Public Radio reports: “An average 15-pound turkey could cost around $30 this Thanksgiving, according to an analysis from Purdue University. That’s a 75 percent price increase since October 2024 — a reversal from the relatively low prices of previous years.”
- According to data released by The Century Foundation: “Some staples will run families over 20 percent more than last year’s prices, including onions (56 percent), spiral hams (49 percent), cranberry sauce (22 percent), and creamed corn (21 percent).”
- Polling shows Americans are cutting back this Thanksgiving on food, gatherings, and travel because of higher prices: “Nearly two-thirds of people are stressed about Thanksgiving prices, with 37 percent saying they plan to buy fewer items and one-quarter saying they are planning smaller gatherings to afford the holiday. Another 14 percent say they will forgo typical travel and more than one in ten say they will skip the holiday entirely.”
Experts agree that prices are being driven higher due to costly tariffs supported by the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress including Reps. Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden who have voted multiple times to protect them.
Ahead of Thanksgiving Day, constituents are reminding Steil and Van Orden of their votes in support of tariffs by delivering greeting cards and pies to their district offices this week. The greeting inside the card tells the congressmen, “Your votes for tariffs have made everything from turkey to potatoes more expensive for Wisconsin families – and there’s no end in sight,” adding, “we’re thankful for a lot this Thanksgiving – but your voting record isn’t making the list.”
