The White House insists that Bidenomics is working but the latest gas prices has Americans calling that claim into question. Gas is up 63 cents a gallon in 2023, throwing cold water on the “Bidenomics is working” narrative.
Earlier this month, President Biden pointed to the Consumer Price Index and inflation numbers falling to a 3-year low as an indicator that his economic course for America was working; “The numbers are clear: Our economy remains strong,” Biden said.
But that’s not exactly true.
“The CPI, once hailed as a reliable measure of inflation, now faces mounting criticism for the many ways in which it fails to adequately measure the costs that middle- and working-class households face,” wrote financial expert Eugene Ludwig and economist Philip Cornel in a MarketWatch op-ed last week.
“For example,” explained Ludwig and Cornell, “CPI includes luxury items, weighting things like second homes to have more impact on the CPI than beef, chicken, milk, eggs and potatoes combined.”
“Additionally, CPI tracks costs of medical procedures instead of actual premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. As a result, the CPI consistently understates inflation,” they added.
From Just The News:
Biden’s claims of success may be undercut by important individual numbers, which paint a much more grim picture than just the CPI aggregate. Gas prices, for example, are up almost 20% this year alone at $3.823/gallon, and are 71% higher than three years ago, according to AAA archives.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that during the past 12 months, food costs have risen 4.9%, rent is up 8%, and transportation services are up 9%.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law last year by President Biden and has been heavily touted by the administration has been ineffective in reducing inflation, according to several leading economists. This month, President Biden said the Inflation Reduction Act didn’t have much to do with reducing inflation, adding that “I wish I hadn’t called it that” because “It has less to do with reducing inflation than it does providing for alternatives that generate economic growth.”
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A survey published in July found that 72% of Americans say they’re experiencing financial insecurity, and many are living paycheck to paycheck. Americans are increasingly going into more debt, and the country’s national debt is currently over $32.8 trillion, translating to an excess of $253,000 of debt per U.S. taxpayer.
More over at Just The News:
Gas rises 63 cents a gallon in 2023 as gloomy data casts doubt on rosy ‘Bidenomics’ tour https://t.co/Qjsqpzdz5r
— Just the News (@JustTheNews) August 30, 2023