On September 13, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which showed inflation increased by 0.1 percent in August.
While this may seem like good news, it is far from it.
Over the past 12 months, the rate of inflation remains at an astronomical 8.3 percent. For context, the last time the rate of inflation hovered this high for this long, Jimmy Carter was in the Oval Office and the Soviet Union was in Afghanistan.
Specifically, “Increases in the shelter, food, and medical care indexes were the largest of many contributors to the broad-based monthly all items increase.” And, “The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in August, a larger increase than in July. The indexes for shelter, medical care, household furnishings and operations, new vehicles, motor vehicle insurance, and education were among those that increased over the month.”
In other words, the August CPI report was more bad news for Americans who are continuing to struggle to make ends meet due to the Biden administration’s profligate spending.
However, despite this decidedly poor report, President Biden wants Americans to believe “progress” is being made when it comes to fighting rising prices.
According to Biden, “Today’s data show more progress in bringing global inflation down in the US economy. Overall, prices have been essentially flat in our country these last two months: that is welcome news for American families.”
Actually, prices have not been “essentially flat.” They have risen by more than 8 percent over the past two months. That is not welcome news for American families; it is more like a punch to the gut.
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Yet, that was just the beginning of Biden’s gaslighting. “This month, we saw some price increases slow from the month before at the grocery store,” Biden said.
But, that is simply not true. Per the CPI report, “The food index continued to rise, increasing 0.8 percent over the month as the food at home index rose 0.7 percent.” Moreover, “The food index increased 11.4 percent over the last year, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending May 1979.”
Biden also claimed that “real wages went up again for a second month in a row, giving hard-working families a little breathing room.” This also is not true.
In reality, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Real Earnings Summary report, also issued on September 13, “Real average hourly earnings decreased 2.8 percent, seasonally adjusted, from August 2021 to August 2022. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.6 percent in the average workweek resulted in a 3.4-percent decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.”
Biden concluded his statement with this whopper: “It will take more time and resolve to bring inflation down, which is why we passed the Inflation Reduction Act to lower the cost of healthcare, prescription drugs and energy. And my economic plan is showing that, as we bring prices down, we are creating good paying jobs and bringing manufacturing back to America.”
Once again, more lies. The Inflation Reduction Act has absolutely nothing to do with combating rising prices. In fact, the Inflation Reduction Act is estimated to increase inflation, according to several experts.
Since he has taken office, Biden has embarked on an unprecedented $4 trillion spending spree, with no end in sight.
The classic definition of what causes inflation is quite simple: Too many dollars chasing too few goods and services. Unless and until Biden and congressional Democrats pump the brakes on their outlandish spending plans, we should not expect inflation to decrease by any meaningful amount in the near future.
However, based on the rhetoric coming from the White House and Capitol Hill, where more spending is the answer to any and all of our problems, I fear the worst is yet to come.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is senior editor at The Heartland Institute.
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