Inflation is walloping Americans in the wallet on a multitude of consumer goods. Sky-high inflation will cost American families an extra $5,520 a year, according to an economic analyst from one of President Joe Biden’s favorite financial outlets.
On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the consumer price index spiked 8.6% year-over-year – the highest rate in more than 40 years.
Moody’s Analytics senior economist Ryan Sweet revealed exactly how much financial hurt American families are experiencing because of surging inflation.
“Having inflation at 8.5% on a year-ago basis, compared with the 2.1% average growth in 2018 and 2019, is costing the avg household $346.67 per month to purchase the same basket of goods/services as they did last year,” Sweet wrote on Twitter. “However, the pure cost for households for having inflation running at 8.5% is $460.42 per month. This estimate is based solely on the realized inflation rate and doesn’t adjust for what inflation would have been absent the pandemic because that is highly uncertain.”
Biden has cited Moody’s on multiple occasions – including using data from Moody’s Analytics in April to argue for his infrastructure plan, during his town hall in July, and during an Oct. 5 infrastructure speech.
There is pain at the pump for Americans as the national average for gas rose to more than $5 per gallon – the highest price of all-time. Gasoline is up a whopping 48.7% since last year.
Fuel oil skyrocketed by 106.7% year-over-year, and natural gas spiked 30.2%.
Food now costs 10.1% more than a year ago.
The price for meats, poultry, and fish jumped 14.2% year-over-year, eggs spiked a whopping 32.2%, fruits and vegetables are up 8.2%, milk prices surged by 15.9%, and coffee prices increased 15.3%, according to CBS News.
Airline fares increased by a staggering 37.8%.
Used cars and trucks rose by 16.1%.
“Some 71% of products included in the Consumer Price Index goods basket have increased by 4% or more over the last 12 months,” Forbes reported, citing Peter Earle – a research fellow at the nonpartisan American Institute for Economic Research.
Consumer sentiment plummeted to a record low between May and June, according to preliminary survey data from the University of Michigan.
Only 28% of American voters approve of President Biden’s handling of inflation, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll released this week.
Of those surveyed, 80% said inflation would be an “extremely/very important” factor on how they will vote in the midterm elections. Another 74% said gas prices will affect how they vote in November.