Inflation Rages on as Gas, Food Prices Squeeze Americans

Inflation remains at historic highs, at 8.5% from July 2021 to 2022, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report released Wednesday, as the Biden administration takes a victory lap on lowering energy prices.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) didn’t change from June to July, according to the BLS. From May to June, the CPI, which represents the average change in the price of consumer goods, rose by 1.3%.

“The food index increased 1.1 percent in July; this was the seventh consecutive monthly increase of 0.9 percent or more,” the BLS report states. “The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in July after increasing 0.7 percent in June. The shelter index continued to rise but did post a smaller increase than the prior month, increasing 0.5 percent in July compared to 0.6 percent in June.”

“On the inflation front, the Biden administration has lost all credibility,” E.J. Antoni, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “After excusing last month’s horrendous CPI report as ‘out-of-date,’ they can hardly take a victory lap on July’s energy prices, since those numbers are now out of date as well, as is every single one of these government data reports.”

Last month, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre downplayed June CPI data as out of date, since energy prices were falling from their peak in June. No such announcement has been released for the July data.