President Joe Biden dedicated a significant portion of his recent State of the Union address to spreading the narrative that his economic policies have caused consumer prices to come down — despite ample evidence to the contrary.
“We have more to do, but here at home, inflation is coming down,” he claimed earlier this month. “Here at home, gas prices are down $1.50 a gallon since their peak. Food inflation is coming down. Inflation has fallen every month for the last six months while take-home pay has gone up.”
Cherry-picking statistics to downplay his administration’s failed agenda might be enough to convince some die-hard Democrats that things are getting better, but for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet, there is no doubt that things have gotten significantly worse under Biden’s watch.
Biden cites gas prices, inflation, and wages to claim "the Biden economic plan is working.”
FACT: Since Biden took office, gas prices are up, inflation is up, and real wages are down. pic.twitter.com/8Dde7mbb55
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 15, 2023
For starters, January’s consumer price index registered a higher-than-expected inflation rate as prices were 0.5% higher than the previous month and 6.4% higher than one year earlier. Prior to the report, economists had anticipated that those numbers would be 0.4% and 6.2%, respectively.
Furthermore, despite Biden’s efforts to tout rising wages, the Bureau of Labor Statistics determined that the impact of rising costs effectively resulted in a 0.2% loss in income last month with year-over-year wages down about 1.8%.
While prices continue to increase across the economy, certain sectors are becoming particularly unaffordable for a growing segment of the population. The cost of food, for example, is more than 10% higher than it was one year ago.
Anyone unfortunate enough to need a new or used car is facing dual obstacles as the cost of automobiles increases along with the interest rate, which the Federal Reserve keeps hiking in an effort to bring inflation down.
The average price of a new motor vehicle has increased a staggering 30% since 2019 to reach nearly $50,000. Meanwhile, the typical monthly payment for a new auto is around $777.
Buying a used vehicle might not offer much relief with the average monthly payment hovering just under $550.
Keeping those vehicles in motion is also much more expensive these days. GasBuddy reported that the cost of a gallon of fuel is “primed to rise in a few weeks” and electric vehicle owners are struggling to absorb the cost of energy, which jumped 2% in just a month and is up nearly 9% compared to a year ago.
