Overall inflation is down, but food and home energy inflation remains in double digits over last year
President Biden, speaking at the recent House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference, said, “The inflation has fallen seven straight months.”
It is not the first time in recent weeks the president tried to paint a rosy picture about the economy and inflation. In the State of the Union address, the president said, “Inflation is coming down” and “Food inflation is coming down.” He also said, “Inflation has fallen every month for the last six months while take home pay has gone up.”
Inflation increased 0.5% from December 2022 to January 2023. Still, Biden’s other statements are technically true. However, Biden’s job approval in the latest Fox News poll continues to languish at 44%. On specific issues, Biden’s handling of the economy sits at 36% approval and only 31% approval on his handling of inflation.
Inflationary numbers look good on the surface, but when peeling back the layers, it reveals a situation in which the public is not seeing or feeling the supposed benefit.
The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the 12-month year-over-year inflation rate was 6.4% in January. That is down from a high of 9.1% in June of last year. While inflationary pressure helped consumers with gas prices and lower-priced used cars and trucks, they are still feeling the sting of inflation elsewhere with year-over-year prices higher by double digits.