Inflation in the United States reached its highest year-over-year surge in over 30 years according to data collected last month by the Department of Labor.
The consumer price index, measured using several staple products identified by economists as indicators of overall price changes, surged a whopping 6.2% between October 2020-2021. This jump marks the fastest annual rate of change since 1990. The predicted inflation level was estimated at 5.9%, meaning that pessimistic economists’ worst fears were not just met but outdone by Democrat President Biden’s crumbling economy. The monthly inflation rate for October was supposed to clock in at 0.6%, but realized 0.9% as America heads into the holiday season.
The hardest hit sectors of the economy include used vehicles, food, and fuel. Fuel alone jumped by a staggering 12.3% in the past month, overall increasing by 59.1% this year alone since Biden’s term began. Energy prices across the board are up 30% over the previous year, which is very concerning for lower income families who already struggle to get through winter.
Used vehicle prices have jumped by 26.4% over the previous year, rising 2.5% in just the last month. The respective figures for new vehicles follow the trend but not as severely with a 9.8% increase over 2020 and 1.4% increase last month.
Food prices, most pertinent for all Americans, spiked by 5.3%, with the hardest hit areas of food being meats, fish, poultry, and eggs which all rose 11.9% since 2020.
Laura Rosner-Warburton, a senior economist for MacroPolicy Perspectives spoke to the Wall Street Journal and explained that the U.S. is walking into a period of increasing inflation.
Rosner-Warburton warned that inflation is likely to become “more intense” as time progresses, and is exacerbated by factors such as the supply chain crisis that’s still unresolved. She said that the combined demand of the holiday season paired with a lack of products is going to result in very high prices.
U.S. retail and manufacturing companies are struggling to get resources and goods past supply chain bottlenecks that have been strained since the beginning of the pandemic and worsened by widespread lockdowns. The dollar’s diminishing power also comes on the heels of multiple trillion-dollar spending initiatives by the U.S. government in the form of aid packages.
Last week, President Biden touted further spending as a remedy to the financial pain felt by Americans. Biden doesn’t need the lessons of history, he just needs the lessons of last year.
Author: Jonathan Clark
