The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the October Consumer Price Index on Tuesday morning and, despite what the Biden administration and Democrats will say — "inflation is coming down" has been tried before — it's another report showing the damage Build Back Better-turned-Bidenomics has done to American families.
According to BLS, consumer inflation remained unchanged month-over-month in October but remains up 3.2 percent over the previous 12 months — notably above the Federal Reserve's target inflation rate of just 2.0 percent. Core CPI inflation, excluding food and energy prices, rose 0.2 percent in October for a 4.0 percent annual increase.
Democrats will take this data and rip it kicking and screaming from its context while ignoring the inflation reports of the previous three years of Biden's time in office to claim things are going in the right direction and say Americans don't have anything economic to gripe about. But hoo, boy do they have plenty to gripe about thanks to "Bidenomics."
E.J. Antoni, an economist at the Heritage Foundation, broke the latest October CPI report down on X, formerly Twitter, and provided the important (and concerning) context that Team Biden wants to brush under the rug to continue taking one ineffective victory lap (Biden's polls continue to tank) after another.
Among the important points from Antoni: the regular inflation reports don't reflect the fact that inflation has been piling on Americans for years now and, contrary to what Biden says, inflation is not coming down. It might be growing more slowly, but it's still piling on top of the decades-high inflation rates recorded. It is definitely not going down.
As such, Americans are currently heading into the busy holiday shopping season in which prices are in reality at least 17 percent higher than they were before Biden took office.
Prices are up over 17% since Jan '21 w/ many consumer staples up much more, like energy and food up over 20%... pic.twitter.com/pSobFenzbb
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) November 14, 2023
On top of prices that have risen by double-digit percentages, American workers' wages are lagging far behind those rising prices. Most notably, while Biden claims that wages are rising, real wages remain below where they were when he took office due to inflation's ongoing hike upward.
Meanwhile, wages haven't kept up with inflation; besides Feb '21, real hourly earnings have never returned to their Jan '21 level: pic.twitter.com/SpJJcLunAk
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) November 14, 2023
The economic pressures caused by inflation have also caused actual earnings to decline by some five percent, as Antoni points out. Employers forced to cut costs have done so where it's often easiest, reducing the amount they're paying hourly workers by reducing the number of hours for which workers are scheduled. At the end of the year, that leaves workers with lower income, adding more difficulty when it comes to making ends meet.
As employers cut back hours, weekly (and therefore yearly) earnings have declined even more, now down about 5% since Jan '21, and roughly flat since Jun '22 despite large nominal pay increases: pic.twitter.com/D2fHkioz8U
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) November 14, 2023
The one-two punch of inflation and reduced income has hit Americans hard. Paired with surging interest rates inflicted by the Federal Reserve in a so far futile effort to actually reverse inflation, the wage cuts and inflation mean Americans have lost out on thousands of dollars, as Antoni explained after crunching the data:
For typical American family, annual real earnings loss is almost $5,400 and higher interest rates have increased borrowing costs, compounding the pain by about $2,000 annually; it's the equivalent of the family losing almost $7,400 in annual income compared to Jan '21: pic.twitter.com/5lzbqgmKF3
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) November 14, 2023
Thanks to Biden's undying commitment to "Bidenomics" or whatever he decides to rebrand it as next, things aren't looking to get any better. This chart showing inflation since 2009 makes Bidenflation's damage clear — and how things aren't yet close to moving back in the right direction.
Unfortunately, although the monthly change in CPI was essentially flat, this doesn't seem likely to continue as the Treasury continues its spending and borrowing binge; we still aren't trending towards 2%... pic.twitter.com/i5i4TLTZZ3
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) November 14, 2023
Thanks to "Bidenomics," Americans can expect more economic hardship, expensive heating bills through this winter, and the "most expensive Thanksgiving ever."
And whether you rent or buy, it's going to cost you 26% more to stay warm this winter compared to Jan '21, and 76% more if you use home heating oil... pic.twitter.com/VXrtfv4ruk
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) November 14, 2023
And just in time for the holidays - get ready for the most expensive Thanksgiving ever next week, w/ many of staples for America's holiday up 20% or more: pic.twitter.com/uGfqomxNFt
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) November 14, 2023
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