Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the annual inflation rate has skyrocketed to 7.5%, which is the fastest pace since 1982.
This should come as no surprise to President Joe Biden or the Democrats who control Washington, as Barack Obama’s economic advisor Larry Summers consistently warned them about record-high inflation in 2021.
“President Biden and the Democrats ignored the warning signs about record-high inflation, opting instead to spend more money that has made inflation worse,” said former Oregon National Guard Soldier Alek Skarlatos. “Now we’re paying the price as the cost of energy, food, used cars and even appliances are more expensive than ever. If elected, I will work to reduce spending so that we can get President Biden’s inflation crisis under control.”
BACKGROUND:
U.S. inflation accelerates to a 40-year high. “U.S. inflation accelerated to a 7.5% annual rate in January, rising to a new four-decade high, the Labor Department said Thursday. … Prices for autos, household furniture and appliances, as well as for other long-lasting goods, continue to drive much of the inflationary surge, fueled by pandemic-related supply-and-demand imbalances. Most economists expect the dynamic to fade as businesses adapt and demand normalizes. But it isn’t clear when supply snarls will ease enough to take pressure off prices, particularly because of recent disruptions from the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Food inflation is also raising consumers’ grocery bills, pushed up by steady price increases for meat, eggs and citrus fruits. Energy-price gains had shown signs of easing after climbing steeply last year. But a recent sharp rise in crude oil prices threatens to keep gasoline prices elevated.” (The Wall Street Journal, 02/10/21)
On May 27, 2021, Barack Obama’s economic advisor Larry Summers sent a stark inflation warning to President Joe Biden. “Larry Summers is urging Washington to tap the brakes on stimulus — or risk unleashing a serious burst of inflation. ‘I think policy is rather overdoing it,’ Summers said in recorded comments at a CoinDesk conference that were released Wednesday. ‘The sense of serenity and complacency being projected by the economic policymakers, that this is all something that can easily be managed, is misplaced.’ The former Clinton and Obama official took issue with how the Federal Reserve and fiscal powers continue to turbo-charge the economy even though the once-real risk of a catastrophic deflationary spiral has since faded.” (CNN, 05/27/21)
On November 11, 2021, Economist Larry Summers said President Joe Biden’s White House misread inflation. “Larry Summers, a former top economic adviser to President Obama, said Wednesday that President Biden’s White House has been ‘behind the curve’ in their predictions about rising prices during the coronavirus pandemic. ‘I think that the policymakers in Washington unfortunately have almost every month been behind the curve,’ Summers said on CNN. ‘They said it was transitory; it doesn’t look so transitory. They said it was due to a few specific factors; doesn’t look to be a few specific factors. They said when September came and people went back to school, that the labor force would grow, and it didn’t happen.’” (The Hill, 11/11/21)
