‘Egregious Biases’: Biden-Harris Administration ‘Grossly’ Underestimated Inflation Since 2019, New Study Shows

The Biden-Harris administration has “grossly” understated inflation, hiding the economic pain that price hikes have caused Americans, according to a new study from the Brownstone Institute.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) consumer price index (CPI) — one of the most popular gauges of inflation — has failed to accurately account for rising homeownership costs, economic harms from government regulations and the cost to consumers of indirect purchases like health insurance, the study found. Using an alternative inflation metric that accounts for these CPI deficiencies, the study’s authors found cumulative inflation since 2019 has been undercounted by nearly half and economic growth has been overstated by approximately 15%, with the metrics indicating that the U.S economy has been mired in recession since 2022.

“These conclusions are in stark contrast to the establishment narrative that the US economy is enjoying robust growth that for some reason the public is incapable of perceiving,” the study’s authors, E.J. Antoni —a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget — and Peter St. Onge — the Heritage Foundation’s Mark A. Kolokotrones Fellow in Economic Freedom — wrote. “Indeed, our results are consistent with the perceptions of the American public, of whom a majority believe we are in recession.”

Roughly 70% of respondents say cost of living is their biggest economic concern, according to a poll conducted by market research and analytics company Harris in May. However, on paper, the economy is not experiencing an extended period of decline, with the economy growing