The highest inflation in almost 41 years has resulted in American households paying an average of $717 more per month, according to the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Republicans.
Despite inflation slowing down slightly in July, the Consumer Price Index still reported that prices climbed 8.5 percent from the previous year. This was largely due to the rising costs of goods, including cars, food, housing and healthcare.
The JEC Republicans’ State Inflation Tracker calculated the average rise in household expenses in July to what they would have cost back in January 2021, when inflation was at 1.4 percent.
“While prices did not change from June to July 2022, prices increased 13.3 percent from January 2021 to July 2022, costing the average American household $717 in July 2022 alone,” their report said.
Fox Business pointed out that even if prices stopped increasing altogether, the inflation that already occurred, which resulted in the existing rise in prices between August 2021 and July 2022, has already cost the average American household an extra $8,607.
Inflation started to rise since the beginning of the Biden administration, putting financial pressure on many American households.
Unfortunately, this burden has been felt most by lower-income American families and middle-class households who are still recovering from the pandemic and whose incomes are already stretched thin and are heavily impacted by the volatile prices. (Related: Survey: 95% of Americans have been affected by the inflation crisis.)
The CPI report for July saw a continued rise in prices for other key items, including groceries, which have gone up 1.3 percent – its highest increase since March 1979.
Grocery prices have now seen yearly increases at 13.1 percent, and shoppers are paying more for poultry, dairy and vegetables.
While the U.S. unemployment numbers have remained relatively low and workers have experienced wage gains in recent months, inflation has erased much of those earnings. Real earnings dropped three percent in July as the average hourly earnings dropped 0.5 percent from June, when higher consumer prices are taken into account.
“While the boost to overall economic prospects is welcome, easing inflation will ring hollow with many down-market consumers whose wages are falling in real terms,” RSM chief economist Joe Brusuelas said.
Energy prices contributed to dip in inflation, but not enough
The decline in energy prices in July also contributed to the dip in inflation – falling 4.6 percent from the previous month, although it remains at 32.9 percent higher over the last year. The average gas price also fell 7.7 percent in July, but still up 44.9 percent from the same month last year.
The White House has also been criticized over the skyrocketing prices, which came right before the mid-term elections. The Democrats in Congress are pushing a bill that is meant to counter inflation, but many critics say it will only worsen the situation.
Experts say the “Inflation Reduction Act” will do absolutely nothing to reduce inflation, and an analysis of the Wharton School of Business warned that the behemoth spending bill would have an impact on inflation that’s “statistically indistinguishable from zero.”
President Joe Biden, who had been defensive for months about the skyrocketing prices, noted that there are lower-than-expected figures in July, and is using this as evidence that inflation is beginning to moderate despite remaining at historic highs. Experts have also cautioned that the high inflation could take months, or even years to return to its pre-pandemic levels. (Related: Inflation causing financial stress on young, low-income Americans.)
Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Global Investors said: “Inflation will only decline at a painfully slow pace. Food and energy inflation are wild cards. Although inflation should peak soon, the broadening and stickiness of price pressures imply headline CPI will only fall to 6.5 percent this year, before the recession accelerates the decline in 2023.”
Visit Collapse.news for more updates about the record-high inflation in the United States.
Watch the video below for more information on the ongoing problems in the economy as well as the Inflation Reduction Act.
This video is from theThree Spoons channel on Brighteon.com.