Inflation has surged by double digits since President Biden first entered the White House — and experts told The Post that his policies have worsened the burdens on American households.
Headline inflation has jumped by more than 13% since Biden’s inauguration in January 2021, according to calculations by Peter C. Earle, economist at the American Institute for Economic Research. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased by approximately 10% over the same period.
Wages, meanwhile, have risen just 8% over the same period — resulting in an effective pay cut for ordinary Americans who are struggling to pay for daily necessities such as food, gas and rent.
“American consumers are falling way behind. Inflation is a devastating blow to their standard of living,” Earle told The Post.
Concerns about persistent inflation were renewed Tuesday after federal data showed prices increased 8.3% in August compared to the same month one year earlier, while core inflation rose 6.3% year-over-year. Both numbers came in hotter than economists expected.
Biden downplayed the worse-than-expected data, pointing to improvement in gas prices as a sign that inflation has begun to moderate.
“Today’s data show more progress in bringing global inflation down in the US economy,” Biden said in a statement. “Overall, prices have been essentially flat in our country these last two months: that is welcome news for American families, with more work still to do.”
Still, the costs of many staple items are much higher than they were when Biden took office with a promise to restore prosperity to the middle class.
Through August, the cost of gasoline was $1.77 higher per gallon than it was in January 2021. A dozen large eggs were $1.65 more expensive, while ground chuck was 81 cents more expensive per pound.
Biden’s policies have contributed to a “triple threat” that has slammed household budgets, according to Tomas Philipson, an economist at the University of Chicago and acting chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors during the Trump administration.
“He’s increased demand dramatically with the fiscal policies, which is basically pumping up demand. Increased demand raises prices,” Philipson said. “And then he has restricted supply, particularly in energy but also in other sectors, by his regulatory state, which compared to Trump is massive. It’s massive even compared to Obama.”
“In addition, the Fed has monetized this by basically printing money. When you have more money chasing more goods, that also raises prices,” he added.
Philipson said headline inflation is up 14% over the last two years through August.
Philipson noted trailing wage growth as a sign that American workers have a “decreased standard of living” over the last two years.
“Since the last two years, your income has not kept up with all the price increases, which made you poorer in the sense that you can’t buy as much,” he added. “Once they fill their tank, once they put their dinner on the table, they have much less left over for other things. That’s the real problem.”
