President Joe Bidenโs economy took a gut punch on Wednesday when a hotter-than-expected inflation report dropped, revealing a 3.5% increase over the last 12 months โ the highest year-over-year increase since last September.
According to the latest Consumer Price Index data โ which was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics โ key drivers of the higher rates include car insurance, groceries, electricity, and gas. New parents and pet owners are feeling the pinch as well, with baby food now up over 30% since 2021 and pet food up 23.7%.
๐จSINCE BIDEN TOOK OFFICE:
Gasoline: 47.8%
Groceries: +21.1%
Eating out: +21.4%
Baby food: +30.5%
Pet food: +23.7%
Rent: +20.9%
Electricity: +28.3%
Natural gas: +26.9%
Used cars: +20.9%
Air fare: +32.7%
Public transportation: +22.2%
Real average weekly earnings: -3.9%โ Jacki Kotkiewicz (@jackikotkiewicz) April 10, 2024
The higher-than-expected inflation numbers come just a day after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen insisted that overall household finances were โquite strongโ โ and may put a sizable kink in any plans to begin bringing interest rates back down.
Critics of the Biden economy weighed in on the news, noting that the inflation crisis was certainly not, as promised, transitory.
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โRemember when the admin said inflation was transitory? Overall prices are still up 19.4% since Biden entered office. Oklahomans are paying nearly double at the grocery store. Rent, transportation, and energy costs are still way too high. Americans canโt afford the Biden economy,โ Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said.
Remember when the admin said inflation was transitory? Overall prices are still up 19.4% since Biden entered office. Oklahomans are paying nearly double at the grocery store. Rent, transportation, and energy costs are still way too high. Americans can't afford the Biden economy.
โ Markwayne Mullin (@SenMullin) April 10, 2024
Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) added, โPrices RISE by 3.5% in March over last year. But donโt believe your lying eyes. Biden told us it would be temporary, it would be transitory, and that costs were under control. Itโs NEVER been more expensive to live in this economy.โ
Prices RISE by 3.5% in March over last year.
But donโt believe your lying eyes.
Biden told us it would be temporary, it would be transitory, and that costs were under control.
Itโs NEVER been more expensive to live in this economy. pic.twitter.com/7FLDyXg6Ah
โ Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) April 10, 2024
Economist Stephen Moore shared side-by-side comparisons in three key areas that explained why Americans are not as enthusiastic about the economy as they were before Biden took office.
- Inflation: Jan โ21, 1.4%; March โ24, 3.5%
- 30-year fixed mortgage rate: Jan โ21, 2.65%; March โ24, 6.82%
- Average gas price: Jan โ21, $2.39; March โ24, $3.39
Bidenomics: ย
๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
Jan '21: 1.4%ย
March '24: 3.5%๐๐-๐๐๐๐ซ ๐ ๐ข๐ฑ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐
Jan '21: 2.65%ย
March '24: 6.82% ย๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐
Jan '21: $2.39ย
March '24: $3.39โ Stephen Moore (@StephenMoore) April 10, 2024
The Republican National Committee (@RNCResearch) also posted a comparison chart showing the inflation rates of specific items under President Biden and under former President Donald Trump.
โYouโll never convince Americans that Bidenโs economy is better than President Trumpโs economy โ because it isnโt,โ the caption read. โSEE FOR YOURSELF.โ
You'll never convince Americans that Biden's economy is better than President Trump's economy โ because it isn't.
SEE FOR YOURSELF: pic.twitter.com/Vww0dhubnV
โ RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 10, 2024
Fox Business host Dagen McDowell added a twist as well, noting that President Bidenโs continued insistence on unilaterally canceling student loans โ in defiance of the Supreme Court โ would only make things worse for families already feeling the pinch from inflation.
โFood, energy, car insurance (+22% y/y)! This is an unavoidable hardship and anxiety for working Americans,โ McDowell said. โSo Joe Biden again screws them + the nearly 90% of Americans with NO STUDENT LOAN DEBT and then hands them the bill for bailing out college graduates who didnโt feel like paying off their own debts.โ
INFLATION WORSENING.
3-month annualized CPI
โฌ๏ธ4.6% core โฌ๏ธ4.5%
Food, energy, car insurance (+22% y/y)! This is an unavoidable hardship and anxiety for working Americans.
So Joe Biden again screws them+the nearly 90% of Americans with NO STUDENT LOAN DEBT and then hands them theโฆโ Dagen McDowell (@dagenmcdowell) April 10, 2024
Even Ron Klain, Bidenโs own former White House Chief of Staff, told Politico that Biden was making a strategic mistake when it came to the obvious problem of inflation and his reelection campaign.
โI think the president is out there too much talking about bridges. He does two or three events a week where heโs cutting a ribbon on a bridge. And hereโs a bridge. Like I tell you, if you go into the grocery store, you go to the grocery store and, you know, eggs and milk are expensive, the fact that thereโs a f***ing bridge is not โฆ Like itโs a bridge, and how interesting is the bridge? Itโs a little interesting but itโs not a lot interesting.โ