“The Big Money Show” co-host Brian Bremberg looks at cost changes since January 2021 and the April CPI release.
The cost of housing, energy, autos, and child care have all increased since President Biden took office, and inflation remains high with no end in sight.
The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed that inflation eased slightly in April, rising just 0.3% instead of the 0.4% expected by economists. President Biden welcomed reports that core inflation “has fallen to a three-year low,” but acknowledged that “we still have a lot of work to do.”
“Prices are still too high. So my agenda is to build 2 million new homes to lower housing costs, partner with Big Pharma to lower prescription drug prices, and make record profits.” We’re going to give families some breathing room by asking the most vulnerable grocery chains to lower food prices for consumers,” Biden said in a statement.
He also criticized Republicans, saying that Republican-backed tax cuts and spending cuts to Social Security and Medicare “will cause inflation to skyrocket,” but Republicans have not put forward any serious proposals to limit entitlement spending. .
Inflation rate rose 3.4% in April as prices continued to rise
U.S. President Joe Biden attends the Asian Pacific American Congressional Studies Association Gala at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 in Washington, DC, USA. Biden said that even after the latest policy decisions, “prices are still too high.” (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
CPI is a broad measure of the prices of everyday items such as gasoline, groceries, and rent. The Labor Department’s report includes so-called core price figures and excludes more volatile gasoline and food measurements to better assess upward price trends. Biden praised the core inflation rate in April, which was only 0.3% compared to the same period last year and 3.6% compared to the same period last year, the lowest level since 2021.
But rising prices at a slower pace is still rising prices, and Americans now face much higher costs than when Biden took office in January 2021.
Housing costs increased by 20.9% from January 2021 to April 2024. (Bureau of Labor Statistics/FOX News)
Shelter costs – rent, mortgage payments, property taxes and other housing-related costs – increased 20.9% from January 2021 to April 2024, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Over the same period, household energy costs increased by 29.7%.
Why are groceries still so expensive?
Residential energy prices rose 29.7% from January 2021 to April 2024, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Bureau of Labor Statistics/FOX News)
For people on the go, gas prices rose to $3.61 per gallon from an average of $2.38 per gallon in January 2021, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and AAA. This is an increase of more than 50%. Gasoline and shelter prices accounted for more than 70% of the monthly CPI increase in April.
It’s also becoming more expensive for Americans to insure their cars, with the cost of car insurance increasing 51.7% since President Biden took office. Auto repair costs also increased by 40.6%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Gasoline prices increased 51.7% from an average of $2.38 per gallon in January 2021 to $3.61 per gallon as of April 2024. (Energy Information Administration, AAA/Fox News)
Do you want to go out to eat? The price of food away from home has increased by 21.8% in the past three years. Send your child to university? Tuition and fees will be 6.1% higher. Are the children too young for school? Since January 2021, nursery and kindergarten costs have increased by 9.3%.
To combat inflation, Federal Reserve policymakers are considering whether to lower interest rates. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the central bank needs to be patient and wait for evidence of slowing inflation before cutting rates.
The cost of auto insurance increased by 51.7% from January 2021 to April 2024. (Bureau of Labor Statistics/FOX News)
Americans are carrying record amounts of household debt
Auto repair prices increased by 40.6% from January 2021 to April 2024. (Bureau of Labor Statistics/FOX News)
“We didn’t expect this to be a smooth road, but I think it’s been higher than anyone expected,” he said. “What this tells us is that we need to be patient and make restrictive policies work.”
After the release of the CPI report on Wednesday, Republicans blamed Biden’s policies for persistent inflation and argued that prices would get worse if Biden remained president.
Out-of-home food prices increased by 21.8% from January 2021 to April 2024. (Bureau of Labor Statistics/FOX News)
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“Life is dire under President Biden, and hard-working Americans are being forced to cut into their pockets to make ends meet. Unfortunately, the president’s budget proposal proposes… “Policies will only exacerbate inflation and burden future generations with trillions of dollars more in debt.” David Schweikert, R-Ariz., vice chairman of the Joint Economic Committee;
“We must stop adding fuel to the fire and return to the pro-growth policies that have brought prosperity to so many American families.”
Fox Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.
