OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The inflation rate climbed unexpectedly in January as President Joe Biden and his administration continued trying to tout his economic policies while blaming American corporations that employ millions of people for price spikes.
“The Labor Department said Tuesday that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price of everyday goods including gasoline, groceries and rent, rose 0.3% in January from the previous month. Prices climbed 3.1% from the same time last year,” Fox Business reported on Tuesday. “Both of those figures came in higher than the 0.2% monthly increase and 2.9% headline figure forecast by Refinitiv economists.”
Other sections of the report highlighted that inflation continues to recede at a sluggish pace. Core prices, which exclude the volatile measurements of food and energy, surged by 0.4% – marking the most substantial monthly increase since April 2023. Annually, it climbed by 3.9%, slightly surpassing earlier estimates.
In summary, the report suggests that although inflation has declined significantly from its peak of 9.1%, it still surpasses the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.
Rampant inflation has placed immense financial strain on the majority of American households, necessitating higher expenditures on basic needs such as food and rent. The burden disproportionately impacts low-income individuals, whose already limited incomes are significantly impacted by fluctuating prices.
Fox Business added:
Housing costs were the biggest driver of inflation last month. Rent costs rose 0.6% for the month and are up 6.1% from the same time last year. Rising rents are concerning because higher housing costs most directly and acutely affect household budgets.
Other price gains also proved persistent in December. Food prices, a visceral reminder of inflation for many Americans, rose 0.4% over the course of the month. Grocery costs also rose 0.4% last month and are up 1.2% compared with the same time last year.
The price of both health insurance and auto insurance also jumped in January, rising 1.4% over the course of the month.
“Overall inflation continues to grind lower, but the drop in core inflation virtually ground to a halt last month, mainly because of shelter prices,” said Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “Other service costs remain stubbornly strong, while the food price increases are particularly painful. Breaking the 3% level is proving tougher than expected.”
Biden was widely mocked and criticized on social media Sunday after his campaign dropped a video in which he blamed companies for ‘shrinking’ the size and portion of their products while continuing to charge the same amount of money for them.
The “shrinkflation” video appears to have been shot in the White House movie theater, and in some scenes, the president is surrounded by packages of snacks.
Biden once said, “If you’re like me, you like to be around a snack or two while watching the big game.”
“As an ice cream lover, what makes me the most angry is that ice cream cartons have actually shrunk in size but not in price,” Biden remarked. “I’ve had enough of what they call shrinkflation; it’s a rip-off.”
“The American public is tired of being played for suckers,” Biden continued.
Several social media users blasted Biden for his inflationary economic policies, which they suggested were responsible for companies having to adjust in order to remain in business and keep Americans employed.
“Joe Biden, whose economic policies created the highest inflation in 40 years, blamed companies for shrinking the size of their products,” Outkick’s Clay Travis wrote. “This is the video he chose to make instead of doing a Super Bowl interview.”
Typical communist tactic: Don't blame the poor economic policies, blame the companies for adjusting to the poor economic policies (so they can stay afloat and keep Americans employed).
If you don't hate communists yet, you're not paying attention. https://t.co/sc9TqfA6wT
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) February 11, 2024
“Typical communist tactic: Don’t blame the poor economic policies, blame the companies for adjusting to the poor economic policies (so they can stay afloat and keep Americans employed). If you don’t hate communists yet, you’re not paying attention,” another account noted in a post containing the video.
