WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Jason Smith (Mo.), House Budget Committee Republican Leader, released the following statement after the Consumer Price Index showed inflation at a 40-year high of 9.1 percent and rising 13.8 percent since President Biden took office:
“President Biden’s inflation crisis is sending America hurtling towards a recession after turning the American Dream into an unaffordable nightmare for working families. The latest data shows inflation at a forty-year high of 9.1 percent, having risen a massive 13.8 percent since the start of Joe Biden’s Presidency. This year alone, families will pay an extra $5,520 because of the high prices caused by reckless one-party Democrat spending, starting with the President’s $2 trillion so-called ‘Rescue Plan.’ In the wake of this destruction the only solution Democrats can seem to come up with is hundreds of billions of more spending and a $1 trillion tax increase on families and small businesses as they try to revive their partisan Build Back Broke agenda.
“President Biden has spent more than a year making excuses for his inflation crisis, as prices continued to rise, only to have his inflation myths debunked – most recently by Federal Reserve Chairman Powell who confirmed to Congress that inflation was rising long before Putin’s war on Ukraine. Now with the economy shrinking and America on the cusp of recession, Washington Democrats are bringing back their plans for a trillion-dollar tax increase that will decimate American families and businesses, and break President Biden’s pledge not to raise taxes on those earning less than $400,000. Instead of trying to tax and spend their way to prosperity, Washington Democrats should focus on lowering prices and delivering real economic relief for struggling families.”
Key Facts:
Inflation is at a forty-year high of 9.1 percent
Inflation has increased 13.8 percent since President Biden took office
Real wages have decreased 5.1 percent since President Biden took office
The Atlanta Federal Reserve predicts that GDP for the 2nd quarter has shrunk 1.2 percent
President Biden’s $2 trillion so-called “American Rescue Plan” raised the FY21 deficit $517 billion above CBO’s projection to the 2nd highest deficit in American history, and was the spark that helped ignite the inflation crisis
Prices for everyday goods that Americans rely on are increasing faster than inflation:
Chicken: 18.6%
Eggs: 33.1%
Milk: 16.4%
Electricity: 13.7%
Gas for home heating: 38.4%
Washington Democrats’ Build Back Better reconciliation bill would increase taxes on millions of Americans earning less than $400,000 and increase the average tax rate for every single income category, as confirmed by the Joint Committee on Taxation
