Sky-high inflation since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021 reached a new milestone as Americans continue to have their finances strained due to the uptick in prices.
Inflation has resulted in a 20.1% non-seasonally adjusted price hike since Biden took office as of May, up from 19.9% in April and 16.3% the year prior, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED). The new milestone was a part of the most recent consumer price index report, which measured a 3.3% inflation gain year-over-year in May.
Prices have continued to surge under Biden following inflation’s peak of 9% year-over-year in June 2022, with the annual rate of inflation not falling below 3% since then. The Federal Reserve, in an attempt to bring the inflation rate back down to its target of 2%, has hiked its federal funds to a range of 5.25% and 5.50%, increasing the cost of credit and adding on even more expenses for average Americans.
The increase under Biden is more than double the gain for the entire four years under former President Donald Trump, when prices increased 7.7% from January 2017 to 2021, according to the Federal Reserve of St. Louis. The inflation increase during the entire Obama administration was also far less, at 15% from January 2009 to 2017.
Despite the price increase in May, volatile energy prices helped bring down the overall monthly inflation gain, with the price of gasoline dropping 3.6% in the month while being up 2.2% in the year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Housing prices continued to be the top contributor to inflation in May, with the index for shelter rising 0.4% in the month and 5.4% for the year.
The trend is not your friend; regardless of whatever Powell & Co. or anyone else tell you, the numbers clearly show we were never trending towards the 2.0% inflation target, let alone zero which is where we should be; we’ve been trending towards 3%+, and here we are: pic.twitter.com/IGd2vUhbM8
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) June 12, 2024
A poll conducted in May found that the biggest concern for 49% of small business owners was inflation, and 67% thought that current economic conditions could force them to close their doors. Small business owners surveyed also had an overwhelmingly poor view of Biden’s handling of the economy, with 60% rating his performance negatively.
Some economists attribute persistently high government spending under Biden to the continued surge in inflation. The national debt exceeded $34.7 trillion as of Monday, following Biden’s pursuit of high-spending policies like the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act, which authorized $1.9 trillion and $750 billion in new spending, respectively.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request to comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Featured image credit. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
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