Inflation, largely driven by Democrats’ “reckless” spending, is hurting poor and middle-class Americans more than the rich, Republicans in Congress have said in a new report.
Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee, from both the Senate and the House, issued a report on Monday on how inflation is affecting the pandemic recovery and Americans families.
“Democrats’ reckless spending has driven inflation to a three-decade high, and it’s making life harder for poor and middle-class Americans,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), ranking member of the joint committee, said in a statement, according to CNBC. “Inflation is eating into the livelihoods of American families. It’s causing them to fall further behind. The reckless spending must stop.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Nov. 10 that the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation from the perspective of end consumers of goods and services, surged by 6.2 percent over the year and 0.9 percent over the month of October—the largest year-on-year increase since November 1990 and the largest month-on-month increase since 2008.
Jackie Benson, senior economist for the joint committee and the report’s author, pointed out that inflation is disproportionately hurting low-income Americans.
Benson said low-income households spend a large portion of their income on food, housing, and transportation, all three of which have seen significant price increases.
“In October, over half of the 5.4 percent annual increase in the CPI was driven by food and shelter prices,” Benson said in the report. “Transportation inflation is important too, as the cost of gas and used autos have experienced some of the largest increases to date—increasing 42 percent and 24 percent respectively.”
“In October, over half of the 5.4 percent annual increase in the CPI was driven by food and shelter prices,” Benson said in the report. “Transportation inflation is important too, as the cost of gas and used autos have experienced some of the largest increases to date—increasing 42 percent and 24 percent respectively.”
By Li Hai
