By the Republican National Committee, July 3

FOURTH OF JULY COSTS REACH NEW RECORD HIGH

• Thanks to Bidenflation, 2024 will be the most expensive Fourth of July on record according to the American Farm Bureau.
  • The cost of a Fourth of July cookout is up 5 percent from 2023 and up 30 percent from five years ago.
  • Ground beef is up 11 percent, hamburger buns are up 7 percent, lemonade is up 12 percent, ice cream is up 7 percent, and chips are up 8 percent from last year.
  • While food costs continue to rise, farm income is dropping, falling 17 percent in 2023 and expected to decrease another 25 percent this year.
• After the Biden White House attempted to brag about the price of an Independence Day barbeque going down by $0.16 in 2021, the same meal has since increased by $11.72 since then.
  • Overall, it will cost $71.22 to host a cookout for 10 people this year, compared to less than $55 pre-pandemic.
  • Americans are estimated to spend $9.4 billion on food this weekend, compared to $6.5 billion in 2019.
• It’s not just food that is costing more this year – people wanting to celebrate with fireworks will feel it, too.
  • The average import price of fireworks in 2024 is $1.61 per pound, up 42 percent from 2021.
• People are adjusting their plans based on inflation.
  • 60 percent of Americans plan to spend less on Fourth of July this year, with three out of five saying inflation has impacted their plans.
  • Nearly two-thirds of Americans don’t believe the founding fathers would be satisfied with the Biden economy.

GAS PRICES AND TRAVEL COSTS ARE MAKING IT A PAINFUL WEEK TO GET AWAY

• Americans looking to travel for the holiday weekend will face high travel costs.
  • In July 2019, gas prices hovered around $2.75 per gallon. Today, gas prices are averaging $3.50 per gallon and expected to rise.
  • Hotel prices are up 13 percent from 2019 while the cost of eating out is up 30 percent since 2019.
• According to NerdWallet, vacationing in 2024 will cost 15 percent more than it did pre-pandemic.
• More than a third of Americans plan to go into debt this summer for vacations.
  • Other Americans are forgoing summer travels, with 65 percent citing affordability as the main issue.
  • Jorge Costa of Michigan: Inflation “has made us think twice. You feel it in airline seats for sure. And even gas bouncing up and down. I think we generally as much as possible try to do a direct flight, instead of connecting flight, but you definitely see the disparity in prices, and I don’t know how long we will be able to keep it up.”

BIDENFLATION IS DECIMATING AMERICANS’ FINANCES

• When Biden took office, year-over-year inflation was at 1.4 percent – having averaged just 1.9 percent under President Trump’s leadership.
  • Just a little over a year later, Biden had delivered the highest inflation in more than 40 years, peaking at 9.1 percent.
• Under Biden, prices have risen by 20.1 percent, while real wages remain lower than when Biden first took office.
  • Groceries are up 21.2 percent, rent is up 21.2 percent, and electricity is up 29 percent since Biden took office.
• The average family has lost $25,920 paying for the increased cost of living under Biden according to the Joint Economic Committee.
• 21 percent of Americans have no savings, while 37 percent cannot afford a $400 emergency expense.
• Household debt is at a record $17.69 trillion while credit debt has exceeded $1 trillion.

BIDEN’S POLICIES ARE TO BLAME FOR INFLATION AND AMERICANS KNOW IT

• Biden’s radical tax-and-spend agenda is responsible for inflation.
• Even liberal economists say Biden’s spending fueled inflation:
  • Former Obama economic advisor Steven Rattner: “The original sin” was passing the $1.9 trillion, which has “contributed materially to today’s inflation levels.”
  • Former Obama economist Jason Furman: Biden’s spending is “too big … don’t know any economist” who supported that much.
  • Biden’s Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen: Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus was one of the “factors that are involved in inflation.”
  • Financial journalist Jacob Goldstein: “The problem is the economy overheated. In retrospect, the government should not have put so much money into the economy.”
• The economy and inflation are the two most important issues to voters in 2024 and Biden’s approval is dismal.
  • Trump has a 14-point lead over Biden on who Americans trust to handle both the economy and inflation.
  • 43 percent of Americans say they are worse off financially since Biden became president.
  • 58 percent of Americans say the economy is worsening due to Biden.

Originally posted here.