The short answer is that it’s better to tout a short-term inflation index, which showed no inflationary growth in July, rather than the annual number which remains close to double-digits and a 40-year high
The “zero inflation” pulpit pounding is meant to break through to the low-information crowd who will accept it as a data point and think that maybe things are being “fixed” somehow with Biden’s new legislation, ironically called the Inflation Reduction Act.
The new bill’s not doing anything yet other than adding to the pile of government spending that got us into this mess in the first place. The fact that inflation cooled month over month means that demand is finally falling because stuff is just too damn expensive and not much more than that.
As this chart demonstrates, we are very much still in record inflation territory as of July 2022:
Biden claiming a monthly flat-line on inflation while ignoring the 40-year high the country is still experiencing is par for the course of how this administration views the economy:
“Yes, we drove up gasoline prices for the past two years but please enjoy this 12-cent drop in the last three days, you’re welcome!” – Joe Biden
Anyone paying attention isn’t buying the spin as the annual inflation remain remains outrageously high and still on track for the higher rates seen in four decades:
President Biden tried to claim Wednesday that the US had “zero inflation” in July hours after federal Consumer Price Index data showed annual inflation dipping only slightly to 8.5%, which outraged Republicans and other critics who pointed out it’s still near a four-decade high.
The latest figures reflected a demand-driven decline in fuel prices — including gasoline, which hit a record national average of $5 per gallon in mid-June before sliding to a still-high $4 average today — that offset increases in the cost of food, rent and other goods and services.
“But people are still hurting,” the president went on, before repeating: “But 0% inflation last month.”
It’s almost an insult to the American people who actually spend their money buying things like food and gas, something Joe Biden hasn’t done in a couple of decades.
The numbers on everything are still through the roof and yet Biden goes to the microphone to proclaim “Mission Accomplished” even though the inflation indicators are still on fire.
The breakdown of individual categories can make your eyes glaze over but here’s a taste of what’s happening under the hood that destroys the “zero inflation” narrative:
John Cooper, director of media and public relations at the conservative Heritage Foundation, tweeted, “Joe Biden claims, multiple times, that there was ‘zero inflation’ in July. Absolutely false. Year-over-year inflation was 8.5% in July.”
The Bureau of Labor statistics laid the data out in black and white — reporting the highest annual jump in food prices since the 1970s, with a 1.3% bump in at-home food costs from June to July and a 10.9% food-cost jump in the past year.
“The all items less food and energy index rose 5.9 percent over the last 12 months,” the official report said, referring to so-called “core inflation.” “The energy index increased 32.9 percent for the 12 months ending July, a smaller increase than the 41.6-percent increase for the period ending June. The food index increased 10.9 percent over the last year, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending May 1979.”
The food index increased with the highest 12-month jump since the period of May 1979. Why didn’t Biden explain that one?
Again, it’s a misleading sleight of hand to say “zero inflation” in July when the cost of food and other household essentials is still rising and still seeing record rates.
The risk Biden runs is the disconnect between what the White House is saying–“zero inflation”–and what Americans are experiencing in their daily lives. To that end, this once again looks like an out-of-touch DC elitist telling everything to shut up and calm down, there’s no inflation, Jack!
When the high-fives around the West Wing subside and the game is still stacked against Democrats in November, the “zero inflation” claim will be a joke in the rearview mirror.
