Following the release of the April Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, a number of US economists and bureaucrats said inflation had peaked and it was possible that inflation might ease. However, statistics from the US Department of Labor indicated that the CPI rose 8.6% year-on-year as May’s inflation data hit another all-time high.
May CPI data shows that inflation has not yet peaked
The US economy doesn’t look that hot these days, and after a respiratory virus shut down the economy and trillions of dollars in stimulus were printed, those ideas seem like big mistakes. Inflation is the general increase in the cost of goods and services, and currencies like the US dollar cannot buy as many goods and services as they can with lower inflation. Reports show that almost everything in supermarkets is now more expensive and prices for things like rent, petrol, cars and apartments have skyrocketed. Prices of goods and services continued to rise even as politicians told the public the inflation was “temporary”.
Perhaps the creation of the Fed was the policy’s original mistake. pic.twitter.com/6SRYSLQCPy
— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) June 11, 2022
When the April CPI data was released, some people even claimed that inflation had “peaked”, but the latest May CPI data shows that claim was not true. US inflation data from the Labor Department metrics shows that the CPI hit a 40-year high at 8.6% last month. Inflation has been so bad in the US that the stimulus checks, extended child tax credits, extended unemployment benefits and even modest increases in wages have been nullified by the rising cost of goods and services.
Inflation is NOT temporary. Inflation is NOT caused by Putin. Prices will remain high and continue to rise. Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. Inflation is caused by central banks devaluing the currency (printing money). Inflation is why Satoshi created #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/4aFQ68OVUB
— PlanB (@100 trillion USD) June 11, 2022
Labor Department metrics show that rising food, gas and energy prices pushed CPI data higher and the cost of housing was one of the biggest contributors to the rise in inflation data last month. While some US workers’ wages have risen slightly, real wages have fallen 0.6% since April. Economists, noting that April’s data was “peak inflation,” are beginning to notice that the cost of goods and services continues to peak. Morning Consult chief economist John Leer said May’s CPI was worrying.
“It’s hard to look at May’s inflation data and not be disappointed,” said Leer on June 10. “We just don’t see any signs that we’re on the safe side yet.”
“Maybe shutting down the economy because of a respiratory virus wasn’t a good idea”
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden continues to blame Russia and Vladimir Putin. “Today’s inflation report confirms what Americans already know — Putin’s price hike is hitting America hard,” Biden said stressed at a press conference this week. However, many people say the US economic shutdown, lockdowns and Covid-19 stimulus packages were terrible ideas. “I’m starting to think maybe it wouldn’t have been a good idea to shut down the economy because of a respiratory virus,” said economist Jeffrey Tucker wrote on Friday.
pres. @Joe Biden keeps lying. He wrongly blamed it #Inflation on #Putingreedy foreign- and domestic-owned shipping companies #Oil companies. He also falsely claims families have more savings and less debt than when he took office and that the US economy is the strongest in the world.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) June 10, 2022
US Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, has shared statements he made back in 2020 when he said passing the massive stimulus package wasn’t the best idea. Massie in January said: “Too many people not to see the bill pass would cause massive inflation, passing it without members present would set the tone for nationwide mail-in ballots, the money would allow for all the lockdowns, and paying people for not voting.” working would kill productivity in the US” But many critics made life difficult for Massie with his contradictory statements and resorted to ad hominem attacks.
“Massie just says whatever stupid thing comes to mind,” one person wrote in response to Massie’s tweet at the time. The Kentucky rep recently fired back at the person’s comment and said That “tweet hasn’t aged well.”
In 2020, Democratic Senator John Kerry said, “Congressman Massie tested positive for being an asshole.” The Kentucky representative also decided to poke fun at Kerry’s tweet, noting that he predicts “that the Democrats John Kerry and his energy hike dogma will be impounded in a rock formation until at least November.” Massie added:
Here’s his dopey tweet when I protested the first $2 trillion printing plant on March 27, 2020 – because it would cause inflation.
Massie wasn’t the only one to speak out against the trillion-dollar currency expansion, as gold bug and economist Peter Schiff was quick to criticize those who supported the stimulus. Same day as John Kerry’s March 2020 tweet, Schiff wrote: “Since the Fed is going to create all this money out of thin air, people will foot the bill through inflation. Consumer prices are poised to skyrocket, wiping out the savings of millions of Americans and destroying the purchasing power of wages for millions more.”
What do you think of the latest CPI data and the dissenting opinions opposing an economy shutdown and massive spending in 2020? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comment section below.
photo credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, WikiCommons
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