Barb Van Andel-Gaby Chairman of Heritage Foundation - Economy | Official Website
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data on Wednesday morning, revealing that the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3% in April and 3.4% in the 12 months ending in April. The report also showed that monthly core inflation, excluding food and energy, was at 0.3%, while annual core inflation was at 3.6%.
Under President Biden's administration, consumer prices have seen an average increase of 19.3%. However, many consumer staples have experienced much larger price hikes: eggs by 40.9%, electricity by 29.3%, gasoline by 46.3%, car insurance by 51.7%, baby food by 30.0%, and flour by 38.3%.
In response to these figures, EJ Antoni, a public finance economist at the Heritage Foundation, stated:
“Every month, these inflation reports tell the bureaucrats in DC what the middle class already knows: prices are still rising, and Americans are becoming demonstrably poorer from the hidden tax of inflation.
“The average worker’s inflation-adjusted weekly paycheck has now fallen 4.4% under Biden because prices have risen so much faster than wages following the implementation of his policies. Additionally, his spend-borrow-print money agenda has also resulted in much higher interest rates on everything from mortgages to credit cards.
“For the typical American family, this deadly combination of declining purchasing power and higher financing costs has been the equivalent of reducing their annual income by almost $8,100 compared to when Biden took office. Furthermore, the monthly mortgage payment on a median price home has increased 114.5% under this president. Bidenomics means paying an extra $13,300 per year, for 30 years, for the same house.
“Instead of accepting responsibility for the results of his agenda, the president has outright lied in multiple interviews, claiming inflation was already at a 40-year high of 9% when he took office. In reality, his own administration’s data show inflation was 1.4% at that time. Biden’s faulty memory aside, inflation will remain elevated so long as the big spenders have control of DC.”
