What are tariffs, and will they make consumer goods more expensive? Here are some helpful explanations of how tariffs work.
The Council on Foreign Relations answers basic questions about tariffs and other economic issues with their Backgrounder series of research reports:
The Economic Policy Institute clears up some common misunderstandings in their article Tariffs: Everything You Need to Know, But Were Afraid to Ask.
This article about Free Trade from the Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints database lays out the pros and cons of imposing tariffs on foreign goods.
Which Is Worse: The Regime Uncertainty or the Tariffs? is an episode in the Cato Institute's daily podcast.
For a global perspective, visit the World Economic Forum website and take a look at this report: How Do Tariffs Work -- And Do They Work?
U.S. Energy Information Administration -- This federal government agency collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy, and its interaction with the economy and the environment. Some helpful reports include:
American Petroleum Institute (API) -- Keep in mind that API is a trade organization representing the interests of the oil industry, so their perspective will lean toward easing environmental and trade regulations, and lowering taxes on their products. Having said that, they also collect a lot of useful data about the energy sector. Take a look at these pages on their website:
U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) -- The national and state-level Public Interest Research Groups are non-profit advocacy organizations that investigate issues relating to product safety, environmental justice, consumer protection, and wasteful government spending, just to name a few. Click here to read their report on federal fossil fuel subsidies.
Prices for tickets to sporting events are determined by a variety of factors, including the popularity of the sport, location of the venue, costs of broadcasting and advertising, and the state of the economy as a whole. Last year, Super Bowl prices saw an added twist, as fans of singer Taylor Swift have expanded the population of viewers well beyond the typical number of football fans.
For more details about Super Bowl-related prices, take a look at these news stories.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics collects data for the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a measure of the average change over time in prices paid by consumers for commonly used goods and services. Each of these Fact Sheets provides data about a specific category of consumer spending.
The Economic Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture keeps track of the many factors affecting food prices. For an overview of how food prices have changed over the last three years, read the Food Price Outlook, which includes downloadable spreadsheets.
Trade associations in particular industries can be a good source of information about consumer prices for occasions that involve paying for more than one thing. Here are some examples:
Inflation 101: What Is Inflation? -- This basic explanation, starting with three short videos, is a good introduction if you're not familiar with the causes and effects of inflation. The information comes from the Center for Inflation Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
Inflation: Prices on the Rise -- This article is from the magazine F&D: Finance & Development, which is published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). To read more articles from F&D for free, use the ProQuest database.
Debunking 5 Top Inflation Myths -- Blog post from the Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to including the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions.
Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator -- This tool will calculate the value of current dollars in an earlier year, to compare the difference in buying power between the two time periods.