Opportunity. Fairness. Hard work. These are just some of the values that define New York, and the values I ran in when I campaigned to represent my community in the State Assembly. I believe New York can once again be a place where every family can afford to live, where everyone is welcome, and where opportunity reaches every neighborhood.
To make New York more affordable, we need to hold powerful interests accountable for the role they play in driving up costs, particularly for groceries.
Since the onset of CoViD-19, big box grocers and others told us inflation and supply chain disruptions were to blame for the price increases we saw in their stores. Conveniently, that explanation left out the fact that the stores turned those disruptions into opportunities to make money for themselves. In 2024, consumer rights think tank the Groundwork Collaborative found that corporate profits drove 53 percent of inflation during the second and third quarters of 2023, and that families are paying 25 percent more for groceries than they were before the pandemic, outpacing the inflation rate.
Now, with tariffs and trade tensions in the headlines, big box retailers are dusting off the same playbook and using the uncertainty as a reason to raise prices again. According to reports, Walmart and Target did not even wait for tariffs to actually take effect before having their employees change price tags in their stores.
The New York I believe in fights to protect consumers from price manipulation. It also looks out for the workers who stock the shelves. Sadly, the big box retailers do not seem to share this vision. Not only do they manipulate prices to pad their profits, they also fail to honor their workers.
Here in New York, Target has faced allegations of threatening to fire employees who discussed forming a union. Across the country, Walmart has been accused of flying in anti-union teams the moment the retailer suspects union activity. These and other retailers would rather invest in stopping unions than invest in the wellbeing of the workers who contribute to their success. If these stores cannot even look out for their workers, they definitely cannot be trusted to look out for our communities.
That’s why New York’s state and federal lawmakers need to be vigilant about protecting consumers.
To start, I believe we need clear protections for those who have the least margin for error when prices rise, SNAP recipients. Thanks to cuts supported by Republicans in DC, the average SNAP benefit in New York now comes out to about seven dollars a day. As a result, families have even less breathing room in their budgets for basic needs. Many of New York’s nearly three million SNAP recipients rely on retailers like Walmart for groceries because they advertise low prices. But when grocers like this are manipulating prices and using things like CoViD-19 or tariffs as cover, it is SNAP recipients who get hurt the most. Lawmakers should be vigilant about exposing unfair pricing games.
Lawmakers should also take a look at digital shelf labels. Large retailers are starting to introduce this new technology that could make it even harder to know whether shoppers are paying a fair price. With digital shelf labels, gone are the days when employees have to physically change individual price tags. Retailers can now change the price of goods without customers noticing, meaning prices could shift drastically from one day to another or even between the time you put an item in your cart and the time you check out.
New York should be leading the charge to protect consumers from these new pricing tricks. I applaud Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for signing onto a letter earlier this year calling for the FTC to make sure retailers are not using tariffs to raise prices. Others in Congress have gone further. Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced legislation to give federal agencies the tools they need to make sure retailers are not unfairly profiting during times of economic turmoil.
States are also starting to take notice too. Arizona lawmakers introduced legislation to ban retailers from using dynamic pricing. In Hawaii, legislators proposed a bill to prevent grocers from unfairly profiting from items sold under SNAP.
To honor our people and the values that make us great, New York must join the fight to protect consumers too.
Author: Gabe Turzo
About Gabe Turzo
Gabe Turzo is a Manhattan community leader and former candidate for the New York State Assembly, dedicated to advocating for families, workers, and neighborhoods across New York. He has built a reputation for championing opportunity, fairness, and hard work, focusing on making the city more affordable and ensuring that residents are protected from corporate practices that exploit consumers. Gabe is particularly committed to supporting those with the least margin for error, including SNAP recipients, and fighting for workers’ rights in large corporations.
Beyond economic and consumer issues, Gabe works to strengthen community engagement and empower residents to have a voice in local decision-making. He combines policy knowledge with grassroots experience to drive practical solutions that improve daily life for New Yorkers. Whether addressing housing, public safety, or fair business practices, Gabe Turzo remains steadfast in his vision of a New York where every neighborhood thrives and every family has the opportunity to succeed.
Featured image credit: DepositPhotos.com
