Few presidencies have garnered so many self-inflicted wounds in only a year’s time. On President Joe Biden’s long list of unforced errors, energy policy is near the very top, and Americans are paying dearly for it. The benchmark for crude oil in America has crossed $85 a barrel, a seven-year high. Despite being one of...
The U.S. Department of Labor’s latest report shows inflation raging, with consumer prices rising 7.0% in 2021. At that pace, prices will double in roughly a decade. In only a year, President Biden’s Federal Reserve (Fed) has presided over a four-fold increase in inflation. Despite price stability being the Fed’s duty, its Chairman, Jerome Powell,...
Some things are so unreliable that we have come to rely on their unreliability. Sound confusing? Just look at Washington, D.C. Does anyone really count on the promises or warnings that politicians espouse from the Capitol? No—you count on those promises being broken. Student loan borrowers have been warned for months by the U.S. Department...
Consumers have been shocked and dismayed over the last year with the dizzying and destructive rise of food prices. Meat prices in particular have gone sky-high. In November, beef prices were up over 20%, bacon was up 21%, and pork ribs were up 23% for the year. Some of that increase is due to inflation,...
December’s jobs report was again below expectations, with just 199,000 nonfarm jobs added last month. Also disappointing was the fact that wages are rising slower than inflation. The unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 3.9%, and the labor force participation rate was unchanged at 61.9%. The number of unemployed fell 483,000 to 6.3 million....
The White House has predicted that inflation is about to come down from its 39-year high, and it might be right, but not because of anything President Joe Biden has done. Rather, it will be nothing more than a mathematical coincidence — and Americans should not expect any relief. The U.S. Department of Labor’s consumer...
Americans are being crushed by the highest inflation in 39 years. An entire generation has never seen prices rise this fast and they’re feeling the pain in their wallet. But the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) passed by the U.S. House of Representatives will only compound this pain with new spending, taxes, and debt. Americans...
Prices are rising faster than at any time in the last 39 years. An entire generation of Americans have never witnessed this kind of monetary mischief and likely don’t understand what’s going on behind the scenes. But believe it or not, it’s all very simple—and downright insidious. As measured by the U.S. Department of Labor’s...
The November’s jobs report was below expectations, showing 210,000 nonfarm jobs added last month and earnings continued rising slower than inflation. The unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 4.2%, while the labor force participation rate increased slightly to 61.8%—still well below its 63.3% level in February 2020, the last month before the pandemic. The...
With inflation hitting a 31-year high, commentators are now routinely giving their opinions on inflation. Unfortunately, most of them—on both the left and the right—are mistaken. The left initially claimed there was no inflation before switching to its oft-repeated line that inflation is transitory, meaning not long-lasting. But inflation has proved to be quite resilient....
The hidden tax of inflation prevents people from getting out of poverty. Inflation isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a huge obstacle to prosperity for the vulnerable and low-income. And even if Congress and the Fed have good intentions, their next steps could make the current bad situation worse. The latest inflation data from the consumer...
Prices are rising at the fastest pace in 30 years, according to Wednesday’s report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the consumer price index for October. The report showed a rapid 6.2% increase over the last 12 months, a pace which, if continued, would see prices double in fewer than 12 years....