Even if it doesn't feel good, consumers are still spending
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So follow The Real Organic Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Don't miss out. In honor of Military Appreciation Month, Verizon thought of a lot of different ways we could show our appreciation, like rolling out the red carpet, giving you your own personal marching band, or throwing a bumping shindig.

At Verizon, we're doing all that in the form of special military offers. That's why this month only, we're giving military and veteran families a $200 Verizon gift card and a phone on us with a select trade-in and a new line on select unlimited plans. Think of it as our way of flying a squadron of jets overhead while launching fireworks. Now that's what we call a celebration because we're proud to serve you. Visit your local Verizon store to learn more.

Inflation remained quite tame in April despite the tariff shock.

I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. There's news this morning that inflation for consumers went up just two-tenths of a percent March to April, less than expected.

In a year, the Consumer Price Index is up 2.3 percent, a slight moderation using this fresh April data. Tariffs have yet to percolate into many prices we pay, but that will be a process. And while some Wall Street banks are now ratcheting back chances for recession this year, a sense of unpredictability for policy remains. Economist Lawrence Idale Baker is at the venerable New Hampshire-based consultancy ITR Economics. Morning. Good morning.

All right. If things are higher priced or if indeed consumers and businesses feel uncertain about, you know, which way it goes moving forward, we may delay purchases that could slow the economy.

Some Brand X Wall Street banks have lowered the risk for recession later this year. You do this for a living. How are you calculating it? We still do not expect a recession this year. I know those 1Q GDP numbers came in negative, which they like to say puts us halfway to a recession. But really, the key drivers behind that, it was front loading of imports. There was a very small negative contribution from the government spending sector.

These are not traditional recession drivers. We still see the consumer as being very well supported. Wages are still rising at a faster pace than inflation. That means we still have the ability to go out and spend money to purchase things. Yes, even with this slightly higher inflation. And that's not just being caused by tariffs. There are a lot of other drivers causing higher prices. But the consumer, at least thus far, has been able to handle those increases.

I don't prefer to follow the crowd in my life, but you know you are outside the consensus on the idea that you weren't predicting recession even before the tariff turnaround yesterday. That's correct. We see the headlines as very detrimental to sentiment, but ultimately not to spending at the end of the day. The consumer might not feel great about going out and spending, but at least so far, they still are spending.

Lauren Seidel Baker, economist at the New Hampshire-based consultancy firm ITR Economics, which sees itself as the oldest privately held continuously operating economic research and consulting firm in the U.S. Lauren, thanks. Thanks so much. Tariffs are import taxes and higher taxes put extra money into the U.S. Treasury. And we now have a first look at the April windfall at a time Republicans are looking at a big tax cut. Marketplace's Nova Sofo has details.

The U.S. collected a record $16 billion in customs duties for the month of April, according to the Treasury Department, about $9 billion more than last year. Higher taxes brought in more revenue. According to Fitch Ratings, in April, the effective tariff rate, that's an average of all tariffs, was 23%. April also brought an increase in import volumes as businesses raced to get ahead of tariffs. All of that contributed to the record amount of import taxes collected.

Now, we have a pause in the U.S.-China trade war, and Fitch says the effective tariff rate is down to 13%. Meanwhile, import volumes have also dropped sharply as businesses shy away from the higher tariffs. That means the government could show less import tax income in its next report. I'm Novosafo for Marketplace.

In honor of Military Appreciation Month, Verizon thought of a lot of different ways we could show our appreciation, like rolling out the red carpet, giving you your own personal marching band, or throwing a bumping shindig.

At Verizon, we're doing all that in the form of special military offers. That's why this month only, we're giving military and veteran families a $200 Verizon gift card and a phone on us with a select trade-in and a new line on select unlimited plans. Think of it as our way of flying a squadron of jets overhead while launching fireworks.

Now that's what we call a celebration. Because we're proud to serve you. Visit your local Verizon store to learn more. $200 Verizon gift card requires smartphone purchase $799.99 or more with new line on eligible plan. Gift card sent within eight weeks after receipt of claim. Phone offer requires $799.99 purchase with new smartphone line on unlimited ultimate or postpaid unlimited plus. Minimum plan $80 a month with auto pay plus taxes and fees for 36 months. Less $800 trade-in or promo credit applied over 36 months. 0% APR. Trade-in must be from Apple, Google, or Samsung. Trade-in and additional terms apply.

Ever buy a fridge or air conditioner? Those blue Energy Star stickers may become a relic of a bygone era. Published reports say the Trump administration is set to end Energy Star, a program that saved households and businesses something like half a trillion dollars since the first President Bush started it in the 1990s. Marketplace's Elizabeth Troval has that.

Since the early 90s, the federal government has been rating appliances by their energy efficiency, says Steve Nadel with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Things like... Refrigerators, clothes washers, dishwashers. Commercial buildings, homes, air conditioners, and furnaces.

And if they are certified, they can use a little blue Energy Star label, which makes it real easy for consumers to say, ah, here's a high efficiency product. And as a result, sales of these products have generally increased quite a bit.

Consumers who buy ENERGY STAR products save money by reducing their electricity bill and consumption. And millions of efficient product sales later, energy savings really add up, including at times of peak demand, says Nadel. So it really is helping to reduce the demand for electricity and the need for power plants. Over the years, those energy savings have helped electricity demand stay relatively flat for the last couple decades.

But that's changing thanks to new industries, says Joshua Rhodes with the University of Texas at Austin. The electricity grid is looking to grow with new loads like AI and data centers and all these other types of things. Building new natural gas power plants and transmission lines and other infrastructure takes time and money. So it would be good to continue to be efficient in places where we can, like with the Energy Star program.

Because this is the time we need all the energy we can get. Ramtin Siyashanti is with Carnegie Mellon University. Energy efficiency programs can help to reduce the rate at which electricity demand is growing. Of course, losing Energy Star won't have an immediate impact. Siyashanti says a lot of appliances today won't need replacing for a while. But looking ahead...

You might see less of a drive by those appliance manufacturers to make their appliances more energy efficient. And it will be harder, he says, for consumers to pick an appliance that is more energy efficient. In response to Marketplace's request, the EPA would not comment directly on the status of the Energy Star program.

I'm Elizabeth Troval for Marketplace. Energy Star is the square sticker from 1992. The yellow energy guide placards are from 1975, coming out of the first energy crisis that decade. In Los Angeles, I'm David Brancaccio. It's the Marketplace Morning Report from APM American Public Media.

Claudette Powell spent a decade in Hollywood building her career before making a radical change. She quit her job, gave away her belongings, and drove across the country to become a nun. I had nothing left. I had turned over my car to the community. I had no more savings, closed my savings account, my checking account, shut down my cards. And that's really scary.

I'm Rima Grace, and this week on This is Uncomfortable, is it possible to find financial security and eval poverty? Listen to This is Uncomfortable wherever you get your podcasts.