LETTER: Numbers highlight Bidenflation

It was good to see that July inflation came in at 2.9 percent, which brings high hopes that the Fed will reduce its reserve fund rate in the coming months. But lest we forget, U.S. policies toward government spending and energy production do impact the economy, particularly inflation. The Labor Department’s CPI-U, All Urban Consumers, is how the U.S. measures inflation.

In Donald Trump’s four year term, the CPI-U grew from 241.432 for December 2016 to 260.474 for December 2020. That represents a four-year 7.9 percent increase in prices, which is an annual average of slightly under 2 percent. In the 3.6 years of Joe Biden’s unfinished term, the CPI-U grew from 260.474 at the end of 2020 to 314.540 for July 2024. That represents a 20.8 percent total increase in prices, which is an annual average of 5.8 percent.

It brings back memories of James Carville coining the 1992 campaign phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid.”