As families in Georgia feel their budgets stretched to the breaking point, retail giants are pointing fingers at President Donald Trump’s tariffs to justify surging prices. Yet while ordinary consumers bear the brunt of these increases, Walmart has quietly extended a generous 10-percent discount to its employees.
Retailers are Using Tariffs as Cover for Price Increases
Tariffs imposed during Trump’s presidency are often blamed as a cause for rising retail costs. Tariffs that former Walmart CEO Bill Simon already could be absorbed by companies instead of consumers.
To offset their rising prices on their full customer bases, Walmart, America’s largest private employer, recently broadened its 10-percent employee discount to cover nearly every grocery item. This year-round benefit now applies both in stores and online, a significant expansion from the previous limit to fresh produce and general merchandise.
Inside the corporation, the announcement was met with cheers, described as a long-standing employee request. But outside their walls, shoppers see rising prices with little relief. Instead, retailers raise prices, report record earnings, and avoid discounts for their customers that could ease grocery bills for everyday Georgians.
But behind the headlines is a glaring question: should retailers be able to pass on arbitrary price hikes to customers without reason?
Momentum Builds for Retail Price Transparency
National voices are already calling out retailers' shady practices of blaming President Trump’s trade agenda for their own price gouging.
Conservatives are urging other states to act. In Virginia, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin signed bipartisan legislation on May 2, 2025, updating the Virginia Consumer Protection Act to ban hidden fees by requiring that all mandatory charges, including fake tariff fees, be disclosed upfront in prices.
Should Georgia join the Trend?
What if Georgia Republicans led the charge for retail price transparency? Requiring big chains to post itemized cost comparisons would shift to real accountability. Consumers would know whether grocery aisles are reflecting added tariff costs or inflated profit margins.
Georgia officials could also consider:
- Instituting tariff junk fee bans like Virginia that require price transparency for retail sales.
- Investigating if retailers mislead customers under Georgia’s consumer protection laws.
- Attorney General investigations to enforce price gouging violations aggressively.
Transparency is not radical. Polling across swing states shows overwhelming support, 77 percent favor rules that require providers to post prices, even among Republicans. Why should healthcare have to and big box pricing not?
Georgians deserve markets where prices are fair, transparent, and accountable. It is time for policymakers to step off the sidelines and level the playing field for all.
