Inflation rose to 3.5% in March, but the unexpected rise continued to weigh on Americans’ wallets and President Biden’s approval ratings.
Despite repeated promises that inflation is “temporary,” inflation has remained high throughout the president’s term, and the president has called for “Bidenomics” as people suffer from high costs, especially at restaurants and grocery stores. I refrained from using the word.
The Consumer Price Index, which tracks changes in the cost of everyday goods and services, points to rising prices for everything from gasoline to home and car insurance.
However, government data shows that rising food costs are also a major cause.
This is the latest unpleasant month for President Biden, who on Wednesday accused major food manufacturers and supermarket chains of using high prices to inflate profits.
“I’m calling on businesses, including grocery retailers, to use their record profits to lower prices,” Biden said Wednesday.
But retailers are also being hit hard by higher costs. New minimum wage laws, higher taxes and massive government spending over the past few years have increased the prices of everything from construction materials to oil and gas.
While Biden acknowledged that food prices “remain too high,” he asserted that “prices for key household items like milk and eggs are lower than they were a year ago.”
Nevertheless, prices for meat, poultry, fish and eggs rose 1.3% in March, led by a staggering 4.6% increase in eggs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
The price of 12 Grade A eggs has soared 103.4% since January 2021 to $2.99, according to data from . US inflation calculatortracks changes in basic staple food prices based on monthly CPI.
Overall, the At-Home Food Index, which tracks supermarket prices, rose 1.2% over the past 12 months, with fruit and vegetables up 2% for the year.
In fact, prices for every major staple, including bananas, beef, bread, coffee and ice cream (Biden’s favorite campaign snack), have soared since Biden took office.
Coffee was also one of the foods with the highest price increases, rising nearly 30% since the start of Biden’s term to an average of $5.96 per pound.
Other staple foods that rose 26% to 29% between January 2021 and March 2024: Chicken breast, now averaging $4.11 per pound. The same goes for ground beef and sirloin steak, whose prices per pound rose by $1.16 and $2.39, respectively, over the same period, according to the U.S. Inflation Calculator.
White bread rose almost 50 cents, or 29%, to $2, and rice shoppers recently paid about $1.01, 28% more than in January 2021.
Additionally, consumers looking to keep sweet treats in their pantries can expect to pay about $5.15 more for a one-pound package of chocolate chip cookies than they did three years ago.
The price of a pound bag of flour has also increased by more than 26% during Biden’s term.
As inflation remains high, the impact of inflation on food costs has been pushed to the center of political debate ahead of the 2024 presidential election in November, which is expected to be a showdown between Biden and Donald Trump.
independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Opinion on X On Monday, Biden “told us that inflation is going down, citing how the prices of butter, eggs, milk, peanut butter, and toilet paper have risen since he took the oath of office three years ago.” “They are trying to make us believe that.” ”
“President Biden should tell the American people that their anger is right and justified,” Kennedy said.
Last month, the Trump administration’s official super PAC launched a website called “Biden Mart” where users can compare grocery prices during the Trump era with current costs under the Biden administration.
There are more than 20 common staple foods. The Post clicked through the list of grocery items to see the impact bionomics has had over the past three years.
A 2 pound bag of apples, 2 pounds of ground beef, 7 lemons, 1 gallon of milk, 1 pound of sugar and coffee totaled $30.07 each. According to Biden, the price has increased by 57.11% from $19.14 during the Trump administration. The Mart used U.S. Department of Agriculture data to compare prices in January 2021, when President Trump left office, to January 2024.
