By the Republican National Committee

PRICES UP 20+ PERCENT UNDER KAMALA HARRIS

• The latest Consumer Price Index data shows year-over-year inflation increased in July by 2.9 percent – twice the rate compared to when Harris and Biden took office. 
  • For nearly every month of the Harris-Biden administration, inflation has been well above the Fed’s average target of 2 percent.
  • Core consumer prices – stripping out food and energy – rose by 3.2 percent.
• Prices have risen by 20.2 percent since Harris and Biden took office – with Americans still reeling from the lasting effects of inflation.
  • On a year-over-year basis, inflation under Harris and Biden has averaged 5.3 percent – roughly double the level of inflation seen under any of the last four administrations.
  • Groceries are up 21.6 percent, rent is up 22 percent, and electricity is up 31.7 percent since Harris and Biden took office.
  • Car insurance has increased 54.3 percent under Harris and Biden – stinging the 92 percent of American households that own at least one car.
• With persistent inflation having eaten away at wage gains, more and more Americans are struggling financially.
  • Inflation outpaced wages for a majority of the Harris-Biden administration – both year-over-year real average hourly earnings and real average weekly earnings were negative for 25 months.
• Real wages remain lower than when Harris and Biden first took office.
  • Inflation-adjusted average weekly earnings were $397.90 when Harris and Biden took office and are now $382.54 – the BLS adjusts to 1982-1984 dollars – meaning Americans have seen a 3.9 percent pay cut under Harris and Biden.
  • Under President Trump, real average weekly wages rose 8.2 percent.

THE COST OF LIVING IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY UNAFFORDABLE

• Hardworking Americans are struggling to survive financially as Kamalanomics continues to drain the wallets of families and businesses across the country.
• Kamalanomics has cost the middle class $2.4 trillion since March 2022, with the average middle-class household losing at least $33,000 in real wealth.
• Americans have now lost over $4,562 paying higher energy costs since Harris and Biden took office.
  • U.S. average gas prices currently sit at $3.45 per gallon, which is over $1 per gallon higher from when Harris and Biden were inaugurated.
  • Under Harris and Biden, the price of a gallon of gas has been above $3 for 1,190 days in a row.
  • Energy prices have soared almost 30 percent under Harris and Biden, 13 times faster than the previous seven years.
• The Fed has hiked interest rates 11 times since March 2022 – now at their highest level in 22 years – making it harder for families to buy a home, finance a car, pay off debt, and perform various other financial transactions.
• Americans need a six-figure salary to afford a typical home in nearly half of U.S. states.
  • To afford a median-priced home of $402,343, Americans would need an annual income of $110,871, a nearly 50 percent increase over the last four years.
  • In some states, the income needed to afford a typical home has increased by over 65 percent since the beginning of 2020.
  • Nearly half of all American renters believe they can’t afford to buy.
• After massive rental inflation, rents are stuck at persistently unaffordable prices and a record share of renters spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing.
  • The average household makes $11,000 less than what is needed to rent a median price apartment, with the median price jumping 23 percent since 2019. 
• Biden’s favorite economist – Moody’s Mark Zandi – said that purchasing a home or a car right now is “completely unaffordable for the typical American household.”
• The cumulative effects of these interest rate increases are squeezing Americans’ finances, punishing low-income and younger Americans.

AMERICANS’ FINANCES ARE BEING DECIMATED

• Americans are suffering from the lasting effects of Biden’s historic inflation, with many struggling to pay their debts, save for retirement, or afford rent.
  • Nearly half of Americans consider themselves “broke.”
  • 66 percent of Americans worry about covering one month of expenses if they lose their job.
  • Nearly two-thirds of consumers report living paycheck-to-paycheck, up 8 points from last year.
  • Two-thirds of middle-income Americans say they are falling behind due to cost of living.
  • 47 percent of Americans say regular monthly expenses are too high for them to put money away.
  • Three in five Americans believe the U.S. is currently in a recession, citing higher costs and difficulty making ends meet.
• The personal savings rate was 3.4 percent in June, well below a decades long average of roughly 8.9 percent.
• Americans are increasingly borrowing to cover daily expenses, finding their regular income is no longer enough to make ends meet. 
  • Household debt is at a record $17.69 trillion while credit debt has exceeded $1 trillion.
  • Americans are increasingly relying on credit cards to help maintain their spending, and those who weren’t able to make ends meet “are just digging themselves a deeper and deeper hole with the higher interest rates.”
  • Seriously overdue credit card debt is at its highest level in more than a decade.
  • Americans are also increasingly racking up “phantom debt” through “Buy Now, Pay Later” platforms, with 43 percent of BNPL users behind on payments.

AMERICANS ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE HARRIS-BIDEN ECONOMY

• American families are seeing higher prices for virtually everything, and they know exactly who to blame: Harris, Biden, and Democrats.
• 84 percent of Americans are about the same or worse off financially compared to a year ago, according to an Economist/YouGov poll.
• 70 percent of Americans believe the economy is getting worse, according to Gallup.
• 61 percent of Americans believe the economy is on the wrong track and 60 percent think the economy is weak, according to a Harvard-Harris poll.
• Americans trust President Trump to handle the economy and inflation over Harris by a 14-point margin, according to a YouGov poll.

DEMOCRATS’ RESPONSE TO THE INFLATION CRISIS BIDEN CREATED: MORE INFLATIONARY SPENDING

• As working-class families struggle to make ends meet thanks to inflation, voters know Democrats are to blame for rising prices. 
• In 2021, Harris, Biden and Democrats passed their inflation-fueling $1.9 trillion “stimulus,” which even liberal economists admit fueled inflation.
• In 2022, every single Democrat voted to pass the Bidenflation Scam, which experts warned will worsen inflation and raise taxes on working-class Americans.
  • Studies from the Tax Foundation, Penn Wharton Budget Model, Moody’s, and the Congressional Budget Office all found that the bill will either make inflation worse or do basically nothing to bring down inflation.
  • The Tax Foundation concluded that the Bidenflation Scam Act will “worsen inflation especially in the first four” years.
• Since then, Democrats have refused to back down from their extravagant spending even as numerous reports warn about the inflationary impact.
  • Harris and Biden have repeatedly sought to forgive student loans despite its impact on inflation.
  • The Harris-Biden administration is touting handouts for new homebuyers that will only increase the cost of housing.
  • The Harris-Biden administration’s proposed $7.3 trillion FY 2025 budget is full of wasteful spending and the largest tax hike in history.

REPUBLICAN-LED STATES ARE DRIVING JOB GROWTH

• Harris and Biden deserve no credit for jobs that have been created – they paid Americans not to work for months and stifled economic growth.
• Republican-led states are the ones creating jobs and leading economic growth.
• The latest state jobs report shows that 16 of the top 20 states for jobs recovered since the coronavirus pandemic began are led by Republican governors, and 16 of the states have Republican-controlled legislatures.
  • Four states have yet to fully recover jobs lost from the pandemic – two of which have Democrat governors and three of which have Democrat-controlled legislatures.
• Out of the top 15 states with the lowest unemployment rates, 10 are led by Republican governors.
  • Of the 6 states with the highest unemployment rates, 5 are led by Democrat governors. 
• Three states with Republican-controlled legislatures, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arizona, all reached a new record low unemployment rate in June 2024 and have been the only states to reach new record low unemployment in 2024.

Originally posted here.