A Tuesday report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics presented a sliver of good news for President Joe Biden, who has chosen to use it as a soapbox to tout his administration’s accomplishments. The report showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August 2021 to August 2022 indicated inflation was 8.3%.
CNBC noted that though the CPI is down 0.8% from June’s 9.1% high, it is still the highest since “the summer of 1982.”
The drop in gasoline prices contributed to the decline in the inflation index. However, Daily Wire reported it is not yet time to spike the ball as “month-over-month prices for food, shelter, and medical services continued to tick upward, producing a 0.1% overall price increase from July.”
The Daily Wire also reported that economists had expected inflation in those sectors to fall 0.1% — making the rise of 0.1% particularly disturbing.
Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick told The Daily Wire:
“The substantial decline in gasoline prices is noteworthy but doesn’t address the overall problem with inflation.”
Hamrick added that the latest CPI report contains “unpleasant surprises aplenty.”
Hamrick noted that “core inflation” (the price level increase for all items except for food and energy) increased 0.6% in August, which was a faster rate of increase than noted from June-July, and was 100% greater than Biden economists projected.
Still, President Joe Biden quickly claimed victory for the “essentially flat” statistics. In a Tuesday morning statement he said:
“It will take more time and resolve to bring inflation down, which is why we passed the Inflation Reduction Act to lower the cost of healthcare, prescription drugs, and energy.”
Biden boasted: “My economic plan is showing that, as we bring prices down, we are creating good paying jobs and bringing manufacturing back to America.”
In July, critics lambasted White House officials for attempting to present July’s worst-in-40-years inflation report in a favorable light by suggesting that inflation was, on paper, 0%.
At the time, Biden told members of the press: “Today we received news that our economy had 0% inflation in the month of July. Here’s what that means — while the price of some things went up last month, the price of other things went down by the same amount. The result: zero inflation last month. People are still hurting, but zero inflation last month.”
Creative accounting aside, most Americans have felt the pinch and declare that Biden is not doing enough to curb inflation. Even left-leaning CNN declared that “most Americans are discontent with Biden’s handling of the economy.”
With midterms on the horizon and control of the House and Senate at stake, the White House released a lengthy report detailing the Biden administration’s economic accomplishments.
The 58-page “Biden-Harris Economic Blueprint” document claims that Biden is responsible for America’s strong economic recovery.
“President Biden’s agenda has contributed to the strongest and most equitable economic and labor market recovery in modern history and catalyzed a resurgence in public investment that will help ensure a strong, innovative, clean energy future that is made in America.
“Together with generational investments in infrastructure, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing, the Biden economic agenda has coupled historic job creation with a long-term strategy to ensure that good jobs of today and tomorrow are created in America.”
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