The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday that the consumer price index surged 0.6 percent in May to clock in at a whopping 5.0 percent inflation rate for the year, the highest since 2008.
The Federal Reserve sets the acceptable inflation target at 2 percent — a mark it has met for more than a decade prior to the Biden administration.
President Joe Biden’s response to inflation appears surprisingly lacking. In fact, it seems like he has given up.
“President Biden’s top economic officials and the Federal Reserve are trying to sell the benefits of inflation,” The Hill reported.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke to The New York Times on Sunday and said, “Looking at wage increases, you can have a wage price spiral, so you need to be careful.”
However, Yellen added, “I do not see that happening now.”
Key Indicator More Than Troubling
The BLS dropped a bombshell in its report. The key “all items index” is trending up frighteningly quickly — the fastest rate since 1992.
“The all items index rose 5.0 percent for the 12 months ending May; it has been trending up every month since January, when the 12-month change was 1.4 percent,” the report read.
“The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.8 percent over the last 12-months, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending June 1992.”
It also noted that the price of food was 2.2 percent higher than a year ago.
Price of Energy Affects Everything
More bad news comes in the price Americans are paying for gasoline, electricity and natural gas.
The report notes that “[t]he energy index rose 28.5 percent over the last 12-months.”
The American Automobile Association said Thursday that the nationwide price for a gallon of gas now stands at an average of $3.07 per gallon. That is a full dollar higher than a year ago.
And oil inventories are dropping, down 5.1 million barrels from last year, according to GasBuddy. Current inventories are down 3 percent from the five-year average.
Finally, natural gas is 13.5 percent higher.
Price of Used Vehicles Shockingly High
There has been a sharp decrease in new cars being manufactured due to a worldwide computer chip shortage, with some estimates as high as 2.5 million fewer cars produced worldwide during the first half of the year.
Therefore, Americans are turning to the used car market in droves to replace their aging vehicles.
It’s no surprise then that the BLS reported the average price of a used car is a whopping 29.7 higher than a year ago.
CarGurus reported that a year ago, customers could have expected to pay $20,292 on average for a used car. Today, that average has shot up to $26,363.
With all bad news piling higher and higher, all eyes turn to Biden for his response.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
