Inflation Continues to Surge Across All Items

Congressional Republicans need to say no to the partisan spending boondoggle

Fairfax, VA. – Consumer prices rose 0.9 percent in June, according to data released Tuesday by the Labor Department, heating up from the previous month.

The consumer price index (CPI), a closely watched gauge of inflation, increased to an annualized rate of 5.4 percent last month amid a summer rush of economic activity.

Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning issued the following statement in reaction to the news:

“Inflation continues to surge across all items at an annualized rate of 5.4%.  But prices are not really rising at that low of a level, in the five months since Joe Biden entered the White House, the rate has grown at .66% each month or a 7.9 percent annualized inflation rate.  Every consumer sees the price increases, and according to the BLS, the pain of higher prices was spread throughout the economy in June.  What is the answer to this hidden government tax which results from wanton spending?  Stop or slow the spending.  This means that Republicans in Congress need to just say no to the Biden/Pelosi/Schumer partisan spending boondoggle which they call an infrastructure plan.  America broke the bank to recover from the Chinese virus, it is time for the federal government to tighten its belt rather than accelerate price increases.

“Everyone loses under inflation, but those with the least disposable income and those on fixed incomes are hurt the worse.  There should be a bipartisan agreement to stop fueling the destruction of the value of the American dollar, but spending in DC is like heroin, it is hard for politicians to kick the habit.  The American people need to stage an intervention and tell Congress to stop the spending now.”

For media availability contact Catherine Mortensen at cmortensen@getliberty.org or 703.478.4643

Congress needs to stop spending to staunch rapid inflation rise

This sustained and substantial increase in the producer cost of final goods is akin to finding a dead canary in the mine shaft of government spending excess.

Fairfax, Va. – The prices that suppliers are charging businesses and other customers rose again last month, adding to inflation pressures bubbling through the U.S. economy.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that its producer-price index rose 0.8% in May from the prior month, up from the 0.6% increase in April from March. The average rise between 2017 and 2019 was 0.2%.

The producer -price index is an inflation measure of what it costs those who make or produce the goods, services and equipment we consume, and as such, it is generally seen as a precursor to future inflation in the economy.

Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning offered the following analysis and policy recommendations:

“The unadjusted producer-price index increase of an annualized 6.6 percent in May, is up from 1.6 percent when Joe Biden took office. This sustained and substantial increase in the producer cost of final goods is akin to finding a dead canary in the mine shaft of government spending excess.

“America is out of the low demand driven deflationary cycle experienced during the pandemic-induced economic shutdown, and now faces a dangerous price surge which is a function of the rapid increase in the money supply.

“Congress can and should act now to stop this obvious trend in its tracks by freezing federal spending at the normally appropriated levels of 2020 as well as ending all new and unspent COVID emergency spending. By stopping our nation’s double digit money supply growth, lawmakers would undercut the primary inflation driver.

“Inflation is dangerous because it is the ultimate hidden tax. Inflation means that our money becomes worth less, making the cost of things we purchase more expensive. The result right now is that real wages (how much you make versus how much it costs to buy the same things with that money) are going down and the higher the inflation rate the less a paycheck will buy. Naturally, that causes people to demand higher wages, which has the perverse effect of increasing the cost of goods and services creating a vicious cycle that is directly due to the federal government’s money supply increase.

“America had to do what was necessary to fight the Chinese lab originated virus, but now the war is against the ravages of that spending on our economy. To win that war, Congress must reinstate the sequestration policies that the Republican House of Representatives forced upon the Obama administration just ten years ago, which lowered federal government spending, and led to dramatic drops in the budget deficit. In 2019, regularly authorized and so-called mandatory spending by the federal government was just under 4.5 trillion dollars, a level which should stand as the pre-pandemic baseline that Congress should strive to achieve when approving spending bills this year.”

For media availability contact Catherine Mortensen 703-478-4643 or cmortensen@getliberty.org.