While addressing the nation on Thursday regarding America’s economic woes, US President Joe Biden admitted that many Americans are “not doing well” financially under his administration.
“I know many Americans are still struggling to make it through each day. For too many, it’s harder and harder to pay the bills, food, gas, rent, healthcare,” said Biden.
Earlier this month, White House press secretary Jen Psaki and NEC Director Brian Deese confirmed the skyrocketing prices of groceries but blamed it mainly on meat prices.
“Beef, pork and poultry are the real drivers of increased grocery store bills,” Psaki said.
Deese added that “…the appropriate focus is on grocery prices and the increase in grocery prices that we have seen recently over the last couple of months.”
“If we unpack that,” Deese said, “one of the interesting findings of the report that we put out today is that about half of the overall increase is in grocery prices can be attributed to a significant increase in prices in three products: beef, pork, and poultry.”
Deese added that if you remove the prices of meat, “we’ve actually seen price increases that are more in line with historical norms.”
Earlier this year, the Republican Study Committee published a graphic showcasing the jarring difference in prices between May 2021 under Biden’s leadership and May 2020 under former President Donald Trump.
In May 2020, the price of a gallon of gas on average was $1.77. In May 2021, that price rose to $3.04 as the nation struggled with fuel shortages stemming from the Colonial Pipeline shutdown.
Lumber is another example, up to $1,390 per mfbm, compared to $332 per mfbm last May.
This May, the Consumer Price Index showed that prices were up across the board by 0.8 percent for April. After a 0.3 percent increase for January, a 0.4 percent increase for February, and a 0.6 percent increase for March.
