While President Joe Biden continues to claim that inflation is "down," the latest print of the PCE price index showed that costs for Americans continue to increase and even accelerate despite the White House's claims that "Build Back Better" "Bidenomics" policies have made things better.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, headline PCE inflation rose 0.3 percent in January and is up 2.4 percent over the last year.
Core PCE inflation — which excludes food and energy costs — increased even more in the first month of 2024 with a surge of 0.4 percent for an annual increase of 2.8 percent.
The PCE price index is known to be the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. Notably, both annual inflation rates are above the Federal Reserve's target inflation rate of just 2.0 percent.
In addition to showing inflated prices caused by President Biden and Democrats' tax-and-spend agenda, January's report is a marked acceleration from December's PCE price index. Headline PCE inflation surged from 0.2 percent in December to 0.3 percent in January, and core PCE inflation jumped from 0.2 percent at the end of 2023 to 0.4 percent to start the new year.
"Democrats' failed agenda led by Perpetrator in Chief Joe Biden is rearing its ugly head once again, with the PCE Price index skyrocketing last month compared to the previous month's levels," remarked Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of the Job Creators Network.
"While inflation was never truly kicked, Biden and the mainstream media's claim that inflation was defeated was premature," Ortiz emphasized. "As a result, ordinary Americans and small businesses continue to face relentless price increases on goods and services, worsening their living standards."
Looking toward the weeks ahead, Ortiz said the latest acceleration in PCE inflation "will likely cause the Federal Reserve to delay planned interest rate cuts, exacerbating the credit crunch and broader cost of living crisis. This stubbornly high inflation is a direct result of Democrats' reckless spending," he added.
"As lawmakers consider new spending deals, in the shadow of a government shutdown, they should take this ongoing inflation as a sign to cut wherever possible," warned Ortiz.