Democrat Sen Admits Inflation Is Getting Worse, Says DC Can 'No Longer Ignore the Economic Pain'
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said Wednesday that the nation’s “record inflation” is getting worse and that officials in Washington “can no longer ignore the economic pain” Americans have experienced during President Joe Biden’s first year in office.
Manchin’s statement came as the Department of Labor announced U.S. consumer prices rose more than 6 percent in October, the biggest surge in more than three decades, according to CNBC.
“By all accounts, the threat posed by record inflation to the American people is not ‘transitory’ and is instead getting worse,” the senator tweeted.
“From the grocery store to the gas pump, Americans know the inflation tax is real and DC can no longer ignore the economic pain Americans feel every day,” he added.
By all accounts, the threat posed by record inflation to the American people is not “transitory” and is instead getting worse. From the grocery store to the gas pump, Americans know the inflation tax is real and DC can no longer ignore the economic pain Americans feel every day.
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) November 10, 2021
Manchin also commented on the nation’s rising inflation last week.
“West Virginians are concerned about rising inflation. We cannot throw caution to the wind & continue to pile on debt that our country can’t afford,” he tweeted Nov. 3.
West Virginians are concerned about rising inflation. We cannot throw caution to the wind & continue to pile on debt that our country can’t afford. https://t.co/Pavwt05WKw https://t.co/zaCCM9vTRP
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) November 3, 2021
In September, the personal consumption expenditures price index rose at an annual rate of 4.4 percent, the fastest pace of inflation since January 1991, according to CNBC.
Even without soaring food and energy costs, year-over-year inflation hit the highest rate since May 1991 at 3.6 percent.
As prices went up, personal income declined 1 percent in September.
Jason Furman, who led the White House Council of Economic Advisers under former President Barack Obama, said government spending is to blame.
“The original sin was an oversized American Rescue Plan. It contributed to both higher output but also higher prices,” Furman said, according to The New York Times.
Since then, inflation has been “everywhere,” Republican Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas said. “You can’t live your life without seeing your paycheck buy less.”
The new Labor Department figures showed fuel prices skyrocketed 12.3 percent for the month and 59.1 percent since last year, according to CNBC. The price of food was up 0.9 percent in October and 5.3 percent for the year.
It had been an article of faith in the Biden White House that the inflation was a side effect of the economy restarting and would settle down soon.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who this week said inflation would remain high through mid-2022, tried to pitch sunshine despite Friday’s bleak report.
“Year-over-year inflation remains high and will for some time simply because of what’s already happened in the first months of the year,” Yellen said. “But monthly rates I believe will come down in the second half of the year.
“I think we’ll see a return to levels close to 2 percent.”
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