Speaking at an event in Culpeper, Virginia, on Thursday regarding his administration’s efforts to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, President Joe Biden said that Americans should have “peace of mind” amidst record-setting inflation because his party is working on making things more affordable for working-families in America.
On Thursday, the Labor Department announced that inflation rose 7.5% compared with a year ago and is the highest it has been since 1982. Consumer prices also rose sharply, according to CNBC. One expert told the financial news outlet that economic conditions are unlikely to get better anytime soon:
That combination of higher food and housing prices “underlines our view that a rapid cyclical acceleration in inflation is underway and, with labor market conditions exceptionally tight, it is unlikely to abate any time soon,” wrote Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.
“While we still expect more favorable base effects and a partial easing of supply shortages to push core inflation lower this year, this suggests it will remain well above the Fed’s target for some time,” he added.
Regardless, at the event headlined by Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, Biden insisted to voters that there is nothing to worry about. While the event was focused healthcare costs specifically, Biden took a moment to take a “slight digression” to comment on the latest economic news about inflation.
“Look again, slight digression, inflation is up. It’s up,” Biden said. “And, coming from a family when the price of gas went up you felt it in the household, you knew what it was like, it matters.”
“But the fact, is that — if we are able to do the things that I am talking about here, it will bring down the cost for average families. It will bring down the cost for average families, I don’t know why they keep moving and all that, but the fact is they keep down the cost for average families,” Biden said, though it was unclear which “they” he was referring to in his comment.
Biden continued, saying, “The fact is we’re in a situation now where you should have peace of mind. I know food prices are up, and we’re working to bring them down. As I said, I grew up in a family where the price at the pump went up, you felt it. I understand. But these things are necessities.”
Biden also partially blamed Americans having less money to spend on prescription drug prices.”Everyone has less money in their pockets today because … of health insurance—it’s more expensive for everyone. Prescription drugs are a big chunk of that,” he proclaimed.
While that might be true, Americans are currently feeling the cost of rising prices in nearly every other sector of the market as well. As pointed out by the Washington Post’s Heather Long, the following items have increased in costs by the following percentages over the last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics :
Used cars 40.5% y/y
Gas 40%
Rental cars 29%
Utility gas 24%
Hotels 21%
Furniture 20%
Bacon 18%
Steak 17%
Peanut Butter 15.5%
Pork 14.5%
Fish 13%
Eggs 13%
New cars 12%
Electric 11%
Chicken 10%
Oranges 10%
Inflation is at a 40-year high. Where are Americans seeing big price hikes?
Used cars 40.5% y/y
Gas 40%
Rental cars 29%
Utility gas 24%
Hotels 21%
Furniture 20%
Bacon 18%
Steak 17%
Peanut Butter 15.5%
Pork 14.5%
Fish 13%
Eggs 13%
New cars 12%
Electric 11%
Chicken 10%
Oranges 10%— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) February 10, 2022
Biden’s remarks can be seen here:
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