The latest consumer inflation number released Wednesday showed price hikes accelerated 1.3 percent in June (compared to a one percent increase in May) to reach a whopping 9.1 percent in the last 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
CPI for all items rises 1.3% in June; gasoline, shelter, food indexes rise https://t.co/MdFNWoD78N #CPI #BLSdata
— BLS-Labor Statistics (@BLS_gov) July 13, 2022
As BLS explains in their release for Wednesday's data, the price of most goods and services continues to spike out of control as the Fed tries to spike interest rates in order to slow the increases — so far to no avail:
The increase was broad-based, with the indexes for gasoline, shelter, and food being the largest contributors. The energy index rose 7.5 percent over the month and contributed nearly half of the all items increase, with the gasoline index rising 11.2 percent and the other major component indexes also rising. The food index rose 1.0 percent in June, as did the food at home index.
June's Consumer Price Index, overall, shows the hottest inflation since November 1981 but the individual indices showed even more dramatic increases and set even more 40+ year records.
When it comes to energy, the last 12 months saw prices surge 41.6 percent — the highest since April 1980. The Food Index has jumped 10.4 percent since last June, the biggest 12-month increase since February 1981.
The reading on June core inflation (ex food and energy) increased +0.7% from the previous month. That’s hotter than the prior two months. So core prices getting hotter not cooler.
— Dagen McDowell (@dagenmcdowell) July 13, 2022
In the June jobs report released last week (Townhall's coverage here), wage growth was reportedly up 0.3 percent month-over-month and 5.1 percent in the last year. Factoring in inflation's 1.3 percent monthly increase and 9.1 percent annual increase, Americans have now taken a full four percent cut to their real wages in the last year of Biden's "build back better" leadership.
Just two days ago, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed "we have a strong economy" and promised that the Biden administration's "plan right now is to do that transition from that growth that we've seen in the economy to a more stable and steady growth."
This was Monday. New inflation numbers today raged right past 9 percent. https://t.co/aEHCC0Cgv6
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) July 13, 2022
Of course, the opposite was reflected in Wednesday's Consumer Price Index print for June that showed inflation continuing to accelerate out of control. In the same Monday briefing, the White House sought to manage expectations for this inflation report while avoiding blame and claiming the numbers would already be out of date. Being a report and not a projection, of course, means that all CPI releases are backward-looking, but that's the point the White House is ignoring to again refuse accepting any responsibility for the pain Americans are feeling. But Americans know who's responsible anyway.
As inflation surges past nine percent, President Biden is finding that Americans, including Democrats, are more or less done with his leadership. Many now say the president should not seek a second term in 2024, and Biden's favorability continues to reach new lows especially when it comes to his handling of the economy. As Guy reported earlier on fresh numbers from The New York Times, "nearly two-thirds of Democrats now want a new standard-bearer for 2024, suggesting that the buzz around abandoning Joe is growing nothing but louder."
Rather than building back better, Biden has delivered Americans a four percent pay cut — along with a heaping serving of crises — and people, including those in the president's own party, have had enough.