New data show inflation rising at fastest pace in 40 years under Biden admin.
QUICK FACTS:
- Inflation jumped to the highest level in nearly 40 years, fresh data released on Friday showed, as supply chain disruptions, rapid consumer demand, and rising housing costs combined to fuel the strongest inflationary burst in a generation, The New York Times reports.
- The Consumer Price Index rose 6.8% through November, the fastest pace since 1982.
- Inflation climbed by 4.9%.
- Prices were up 0.8% from October, an “unusually rapid pace,” notes the Times.
- “The rising costs spell trouble for officials at the Federal Reserve and the White House, who are trying to calibrate policy at a moment when the labor market has yet to completely heal from the pandemic, but the risk that price increases could become more lasting is increasing,” the Times comments.
THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTS:
But inflation is just part of the picture. Roughly more than 13 million Americans quit their jobs between August and October, a trend with no precedent. The economy has created more than 6 million jobs since Biden took office, something that has also never happened before. The stock market is up roughly 25 percent and economic growth is surging far faster than most analysts predicted before this year.
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[M]any liberals and allies of the White House…say that voter frustration with the economy reflects real challenges facing millions of Americans, primarily inflation that has reversed the growth in wages in the U.S. recovery.
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American families are seeing their wage increases erased by staggering price hikes over the last year, according to Jason Furman, an economist who served in the Obama administration.
Price increases are hitting every part of the income distribution, including the vast middle class, across key household necessities like fuel, food and housing.
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“The typical family is spending an extra $4,000 this year because of excess inflation,” Furman said. “It does not seem like much of a mystery why people are upset when they have to spend thousands of additional dollars more because of inflation.”
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Whatever the cause, there is growing evidence that voters are blaming Biden for high prices in a way that could spell political disaster for Democrats in 2022.
Roughly 70 percent of Americans rate the economy negatively, with nearly half of Americans and political independents blaming Biden for inflation, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC poll. Biden’s approval rating on the economy has fallen dramatically, the poll found, with 55 percent of the country now viewing his economic stewardship negatively, compared to just 39 percent who view it positively.
