You wouldn’t know it from coverage of the latest consumer price index report, but Americans are still struggling to stay afloat financially after nearly two years of record-high inflation.
Instead of highlighting the climbing food and shelter prices affecting Americans on a daily basis, the Biden administration and its dutiful allies in the corrupt corporate media have teamed up to convince Americans that 6.5 percent year-over-year inflation and a 0.1 percent drop from November 2022 is a good thing.
The fact that American families are out an extra $7,400 since Biden took office thanks to the climbing price of essentials hasn’t stopped the Biden administration or its sympathizers from insisting that the U.S. economy, which recorded the “lowest inflation rate since Oct 2021,” is in great shape because prices “fell” or went “down.”
American families, the White House and Democrat senators claim, finally have “breathing room.”
Corporate media coverage was similarly dominated by the narrative that “consumer prices fell” and inflation “cooled.”
One graph featured in the Axios morning newsletter sought to prove to struggling Americans that inflation is a lot better than it was a few months ago.
“The bottom line: America’s inflation problem isn’t over. But inflation is slowing while the job market is still healthy — an enviable combination,” the caption reassures.
What the graph really does is show the latest CPI numbers are only slightly down from the 40-year high that’s defined Biden’s presidency.
Contrary to the overarching narrative, the official stats show that Americans are still overpaying for essential goods and services compared to December 2021. Energy, which accounts for a significant portion of Americans’ spending, increased 7.3 percent since December 2021. Food saw a double-digit increase, 10.4 percent, since last year. The price of eggs, specifically, skyrocketed 11.1 percent in the last year.
If the prices of things people spend their money on, such as energy and food, are removed from the equation, inflation doesn’t exist, according to the repeated insistences of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and talking heads.
Even without food and energy, however, inflation rose 0.3 percent since November 2022 and 5.7 percent since December 2021. Current price increases compared to the inflation rates recorded two years ago show yields nearly all with double-digit percent jumps.