A lot has gone wrong under the Biden administration, but perhaps nothing has affected average Americans more than the years-long inflation spike that began the moment the current president took office.
In July of 2022, the rate of inflation peaked at 9.1 percent, an eye-watering level that the United States hadn't seen in 40 years. That followed a nearly year-and-a-half-long march of consumer price increases that left normal people struggling to pay their bills and depleting their savings. To this day, some 60 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck despite proclamations from the White House of the glories of "Bidenomics."
Instead of accepting responsibility for the suffering caused, though, wine-sipping elites continue to pretend everything is just fine and dandy. You see, because the inflation rate has gone down over the last year (it did spike upward again in August), you not only should be happy, but you should say thank you.
That attitude was perfectly illustrated by left-wing apparatchiks Justin Wolfers and Tom Nichols, with the former being an "economist" and the latter being an "expert" in whatever he claims to be on a given day.
That kind of willful ignorance about what actually has people up in arms over inflation is exactly why so many people grade the Biden administration extremely poorly regarding the economy. Here's a hint for Wolfers and Nichols. No one cares about the inflation rating going down when all that is decreasing is the rate of increase. Prices are still rising and at a higher level than normal.
Further, and more importantly, the massive spike in costs for American families has already happened. For example, food costs have risen 20 percent under Biden's leadership. Some stupid chart showing that they'll only be somewhat more expensive next month is no consolation to anyone. The lack of any acknowledgment of that by clowns like Wolfers is completely tone-deaf.
Here's the reality for Americans.
- Grocery (food at home) prices have increased 20%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
And here's some more reality for the two aforementioned Democrats just in case they are still confused.
- Food away from home prices have increased 18%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
- Energy prices have increased 38%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
- Prices for fuel oil have increased 45%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
- Gasoline (all types) prices have increased 52%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
- Natural gas prices have increased 20.7%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
- Electricity prices have increased 26%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
- Rental prices for a primary residence have increased 15.6%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
- Prices for used cars and trucks have increased 35%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
- Prices for new vehicles have increased 20%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
- Furniture prices have increased 18.8%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
- Apparel prices have increased 10.8%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
- Airline fares have increased 39%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/12/2023)
Wages have come nowhere close to keeping up with the above price hikes, and it just so happens that the things mentioned are the things normal Americans spend most of their money on. Hack economists can massage the numbers all they want. It doesn't change the fact that what has happened with inflation has been crushing and continues to be.
I'm supposed to be impressed that inflation is now "only" 3.2 percent after the last two-plus years of massive cost increases? Yeah, that's not how any of this works. Democrats own the results of their big-spending policies, and it's not Republicans who care crazy for pointing that out. It's partisan imbeciles like Wolfers and Nichols who would rather go "ackshually" than admit how screwed up things are because it might threaten their grip on power.