March Report Shows ‘Inflation Is Far From Dead,’ Whatever Biden Says: Economist
An economist says that “inflation is far from dead” after the consumer price index report showed inflation rose 0.1% in March, up 5% from March 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday.
“Today’s inflation data show prices rising more than twice as fast as the Fed’s target 2.0% rate,” EJ Antoni, a research fellow for regional economics in the Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal after the report’s release. “Inflation is far from dead, despite the White House [likely] taking a victory lap on today’s numbers. It’s ironic that they are taking credit for reducing inflation after causing it in the first place.” (The Daily Signal is Heritage’s multimedia news organization.)
“Energy prices are down from record highs, but that is likely to reverse in coming months as global energy production declines,” Antoni said. “Having depleted the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and hamstrung domestic production, [President Joe] Biden has put America in a vulnerable position to meet the coming storm and inflation will continue.”
Antoni added:
The Fed has also created a $6 trillion problem with its reverse repurchase agreement operations and interest on reserve policy. These factors are creating $800 million every day, which will fuel inflation going forward.
The shelter index rose 0.6%, the transportation services index rose 1.4%, the new vehicles index rose 0.4%, the medical care commodities index rose 0.6%, and the food away from home index rose 0.6% while the gasoline index decreased 4.6%, the fuel oil index decreased 4%, the utility (piped) gas service index decreased 7.1%, the energy index decreased 3.5%, and the used car and trucks index decreased 0.9%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
“The effect on the common man is devastating—earnings can’t keep up with the 15% increase in prices under Biden, so that real earnings are down more than 5% since his inauguration,” Antoni said. “Higher interest rates have further compounded the pain by increasing borrowing costs.”
“The average family has effectively lost $7,100 in annual income under Biden’s watch. That’s more than an entire month’s income for many families,” Antoni added.
Wednesday’s report was better than some economist predictions that inflation rose 0.2% in March and at a year-over-year rate of 5.1%.
Alfredo Ortiz, president and chief executive officer of the Job Creators Network, also weighed in on Wednesday’s consumer price index report.
“Today’s CPI report marks the two-year anniversary of declining real wages for ordinary American workers as a result of ongoing historic inflation,” Ortiz said in a statement. “This sad anniversary is the result of President Biden and Congressional Democrats’ reckless spending that has diluted the value of the currency already in existence.”
“The two-year decline in living standards for ordinary Americans proves once and for all that Democrats are America’s anti-worker party,” Ortiz said. “Their easy fiscal and monetary policy, known as Modern Monetary Theory, has been wholly discredited by this prolonged erosion of the dollar’s value.”
The White House did not immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.
“Today’s report shows continued progress in our fight against inflation with the 12-month inflation rate at the lowest level since May 2021,” Biden said in a statement. “This progress follows last week’s news that our job market remains historically strong. Inflation has now fallen by 45% from its summer peak.”
“Gas prices are down more than $1.40 from the summer, and grocery prices fell in the month of March for the first time since September 2020. In recent months, we have also seen price declines for items like used cars, smartphones, and other electronics,” Biden said. “While inflation is still too high, this progress means more breathing room for hard-working Americans—with wages now higher than they were nine months ago, after accounting for inflation.”
The consumer price index rose 0.4% in February, up 6% from February 2022, The Daily Signal reported.
The February report showed that the shelter index rose 0.8%, the food index rose 0.4%, the transportation services index rose 1.1%, and the gasoline index rose 1.0%, while the fuel oil index decreased 7.9%, the utility (piped) gas service index decreased 8.0%, the energy index decreased 0.6%, and the used car and trucks index decreased 2.8%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last month.
The consumer price index for April will be released May 10.
