Analysis: Republican National Committee

HIGH PRICES AGAIN OUTPACE WAGES

• With the economy in recession, historically high inflation, and taxes poised to rise on middle-class families, Biden’s relentless attacks on working-class Americans is showing no signs of slowing down – yet Biden and Democrats spent the day yesterday celebrating.
• The Consumer Price Index soared by 8.3 percent in August compared to last year, meaning inflation remains at a near 40-year high.
  • Core consumer prices – excluding food and energy – rose by 6.3 percent from last year, coming in well above economists’ expectations.
  • Real average hourly earnings fell 2.8 percent over the last year, marking the 17th month in a row under Biden in which inflation has outpaced wages.
  • Real wages have fallen every month since Biden and Democrats passed their wasteful $1.9 trillion “stimulus.”
• August’s Producer Price Index rose by 8.7 percent since last year. 
  • This marks the17th straight month that wholesale inflation has been above 5 percent year-over-year. 
  • Core producer prices – which takes out food, energy, and trade – increased by 5.6 percent from last year. 
• With the economy in a recession, 69 percent of Americans say the economy is “getting worse” according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll.
  • 93 percent of Americans view inflation and prices as “very” or “somewhat” important to them and 59 percent of Americans believe we are currently in a recession according to an Economist/YouGov poll.
  • 61 percent of Americans are struggling to live “paycheck to paycheck.”

BIDENFLATION IS COSTING FAMILIES THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS

• Even if inflation stopped rising today, Biden’s price hike would cost the average U.S. family more than $8,500 over the next year according to Congress’ Joint Economic Committee.
  • In August alone, inflation cost the typical household an extra $715.
• As prices continue to rise, millions of Americans are struggling to pay their bills.
  • 48 percent of hourly workers do not have a “single cent” in emergency savings, marking a seven percent increase since last year and indicating inflation is having a “severe toll” on workers.
  • An even higher percentage of workers – 80 percent – report having “less than $500” saved for emergencies, with workers citing “rising energy, food and housing costs” as the main factors impacting their finances.
  • Credit card debt has jumped 13 percent over the last year, marking the largest increase in more than 20 years.
• A Northwestern Mutual study found Americans now have an average of $11,000 less in savings than they did last year.

AMERICANS ARE STRUGGLING TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE

• Bidenflation is hitting grocery bills especially hard, forcing many Americans to either resort to store brands, cut back on essentials, or do without certain types of food altogether.
  • In August, grocery prices jumped 13.5 percent compared to last year, marking the largest increase in over 43 years.
  • Prices for eggs are up an astounding 40 percent while items like chicken, milk, and lunchmeats have soared 16 percent, 17 percent, and 18 percent, respectively.
• More Americans are turning to food banks and government assistance to feed their families.
  • Food banks across the country are facing a “drumbeat of increasing demand, month over month” according to Katie Fitzgerald, president of Feeding America.
• 65 percent of parents are concerned about their ability to provide a “healthy” breakfast for their children due to Bidenflation.
• Americans are increasingly forced to go into debt just to pay for their groceries.
  • One Baltimore mother said: “I even have to go to the grocery store in the early morning — like 6 or 7 in the morning — so I can get the cheap meat because they sell meat from yesterday cheaper.”
  • Senior director of policy at the Community Foodbank of New Jersey Adele LaTourette: “there are increasing numbers of people across the state that simply cannot afford to feed their families.”

AMERICANS KNOW BIDEN IS TO BLAME FOR THE ECONOMY

• The American people see just how bad things are and overwhelmingly blame Biden for his poor handling of the economy.
• According to a Gallup poll, 56 percent of people say that rising prices is causing them financial hardship.
• According to an Economist/YouGov poll, 74 percent of Americans have negative views of the economy – including 57 percent of Democrats.
• According to a Quinnipiac poll, Biden’s economic approval rating is underwater, and 79 percent of Americans have “not so good” or “poor” views of the economy.
• According to a CBS News poll, 60 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Biden is handing gas prices.
• According to an NPR poll, rising prices have hit minority communities especially hard, with inflation causing “serious problems” for 69 percent of Native American, 58 percent of Black, and 56 percent of Latino households.

BIDEN AND DEMOCRATS’ POLICIES ARE TO BLAME FOR INFLATION

• Biden and Democrats’ radical tax-and-spend agenda is responsible for inflation.
  • A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found that Biden and Democrats’ $1.9 trillion “stimulus” fueled inflation.
  • Marc Goldwein of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: “We put gasoline on the fire. That’s basically what the [$1.9 trillion stimulus] did.”
• 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.”

MORE INFLATIONARY SPENDING AND BAILOUTS FOR THE WEALTHY

• Despite turning a recovery into a recession, Biden and Democrats passed their Bidenflation Scam bill designed to raise taxes on families during a recession and hire 87,000 new IRS agents, increasing audits on the middle class.
  • Biden campaigned on the promise not to raise taxes on Americans making less than $400,000, making this commitment at least 60 times.
  • Studies from the Tax Foundation, Penn Wharton, Moody’s, and the Congressional Budget Office all find that the Democrats’ “Inflation Reduction Act” will either make inflation worse or do basically nothing to bring down inflation.
• Biden’s student loan bailout is a handout to the rich that will cost taxpayers billions and worsen inflation.
  • The Penn Wharton Budget Model found that the costs of Biden’s student loan bailout could exceed $1 trillion, with the majority of the benefits going to the top 60 percent of earners.
  • The Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget reports that Biden’s plan to cancel student debt would immediately increase inflation and “create additional inflationary pressure over time.”
  • A CNBC survey found that 59 percent of Americans worry that student loan forgiveness would worsen Bidenflation.
  • Former Obama economic advisor Larry Summers called Biden’s decision to extend the pause in student loan payments “highly problematic,” saying student debt cancellation is “highly regressive” and likely to contribute to “inflation pressures.”