Biden says inflation has eased – if you exclude energy and food prices

Biden says inflation has eased – if you exclude energy and food prices

Another farcical remark from the US president, who said that if a few factors are taken out of the equation, it is clear that inflation has decreased. Meanwhile, people are facing additional costs of $460 a month, the highest increase in decades.

ECONOMY WORLD POLITICS JUNE 14. 2022 12:15

If the drivers of the economy are taken out of the equation, inflation has fallen

„Inflation, outside of energy and food, what economists call core inflation, has moderated in the past two months. Not enough, but it has moderated, it has come down, and we need it to come down much more quickly,” Joe Biden said in a speech recently.

Ironically, the US president has removed from the equation precisely those factors that drive the economy. Moreover, the president was barely right about that, because core inflation in May was actually 6%, which is just slightly down from April’s 6.2%. In his speech, President Biden once again returned to the narrative that Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for high inflation, even though significant inflation had already begun in the United States last autumn, as V4NA reported earlier.

Mr Biden also reiterated his belief that since he took office, families are carrying less debt and less burden. What the president failed to add was that these are older, pre-inflation figures. President Biden did not offer any solution to inflation, despite calling it his „top economic priority.”

„Bidenflation” costs people an extra $460 a month

Just how much “better off” families are in the US is shown by the fact that Moody’s, the financial services company, predicts that Biden’s inflation will cost US households an average of $5,520 in 2022, or $460 a month – this is the extra amount people can expect to pay. Rising costs are changing consumer habits, according to the June survey of BMO Real Financial Progress Index. This reveals that:

  • 42 per cent of people are changing the way they buy food. This includes choosing cheaper products, avoiding branded products and buying only the essentials.
  • 46 per cent either eat out less or consciously spend less when dining out.
  • 31 per cent of drivers are driving less to offset the rise in fuel prices.
  • 23 per cent of people are spending less on holidays or cancelling them altogether.
  • 22 per cent take measures such as cancelling gym passes or cable TV subscriptions.

There are products that people cannot buy despite wanting to, as there is a serious shortage of certain items. One example is baby formula, which is such a problem in the country that parents are becoming increasingly desperate and angry. In recent weeks, even tampons have become a rarity on the shelves. People on social media have sharply criticised the Biden administration for the latest problem. One of them wrote: “Baby formula and now a tampon shortage. Biden’s War on Women is on. Stock up ladies.”

Another comment reads that Biden will also blame the Russian president for this.

Some say Biden is deliberately letting fuel prices soar

Although consumers are not yet facing fuel shortages, prices at the pumps have hit an all-time high. A recent poll shows that 74 per cent of those polled believe that Biden’s gas price hike is an „extremely important” factor in how they will vote in the mid-term elections. Support for Biden regarding his handling of petrol prices is only 27 per cent. This is especially unpleasant for the Democrats as the mid-term elections can also be viewed as referendums in which people evaluate the work of the president so far.


SOURCE: IPSOS.COM

Another poll shows that 53 per cent of people think President Joe Biden is deliberately letting fuel prices go up to force people to use less fossil fuels.

 

ECONOMY WORLD POLITICS

Tags:

bidenflation, energy prices, food prices, usa