Americans' top concern is now inflation, but Psaki blames 'people's psychology' for pessimism about Biden's economy



There is no shortage of data points that illustrate major worries about the U.S. economy — especially when it comes to inflation. A new poll finds that inflation is now the top concern of Americans. However, White House press secretary Jen Psaki claims that Americans who have pessimism about Biden's economy are because of "people's psychology" about the pandemic.

Inflation in November was 6.8% — the highest in nearly 40 years.

Gas prices skyrocketed 58.1% over the past year, and heating oil spiked 34.3%. Besides soaring energy costs, Americans are also paying way more for food. The cost of bacon shot up 21%, beef and veal prices have swelled 20.9%, pork chops are up 12.7%, chicken rose 9.2%, fish and eggs climbed 8%, coffee increased by 7.5%, and cereal was up 5.7%.

Prices for consumer goods also increased from last November. Furniture rose 12%, laundry equipment jumped 9.2%, bikes are up 9%, and tools and other outdoor equipment increased 6.9%.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported that used car and truck prices soared 31.4% year-over-year, and rental cars jumped 37.2%.

Another month of rising prices under Biden:\n\nGas: +58.1% since last year \nBacon: +21%\nEggs: +8%\nSteak: +24.6%\nPropane & Firewood: +34.3%\nFurniture: 11.8%\nUsed Cars & Trucks: +31.4% \nCoffee: +7.5%\nCigarettes: +9.4%\nHotels & Motels: +25.5%\nCar & Truck Rentals: +37.2%\nBikes: +9.4%
— Jacki Kotkiewicz (@Jacki Kotkiewicz) 1639144241

A CNBC All-America Economic survey released on Friday found that inflation has "firmly eclipsed" coronavirus as the No. 1 concern.

Nearly half of Americans say that inflation has caused them "financial hardship," according to a Gallup poll released earlier this month.

A Yahoo News/YouGov survey released last month said that 77% of Americans say inflation has personally affected them. A clear majority — 57% — blame President Joe Biden for the high prices caused by inflation.

The White House attempted to deflect blame for inflation. Psaki blamed "people's psychology" for negativity regarding the current economy.

During Friday's White House press briefing, a reporter cited a recent NPR/Marist poll that stated 61% of Americans say the country is moving in the wrong direction. The reporter then asked Psaki, "What’s the White House’s big-picture view on why so many Americans are so pessimistic about the economy and about the direction of the country?"

Psaki replied, "Why are people experiencing things or why — because — and I — we’ve talked about this a little bit before. But, you know, a lot of it — what we’re seeing in our data is people’s psychology on the economy, on how they’re experiencing things in the country right now is related to COVID and the fact that COVID — we’re still in a fight against this virus."

"People expected it to be over sooner," she added. "We have new variants that have come up. And people are looking to get back to a normal version of life."

Psaki blames Covid for why people are so pessimistic about the economy:\n\n\u201cPeople\u2019s psychology on the economy, on how they\u2019re experiencing things in the country right now, is related to Covid.\u201dpic.twitter.com/szzkr96hYo
— The First (@The First) 1639167633

Psaki was also asked if Biden will "acknowledge that inflation is more entrenched and not transitory?"

Psaki responded, "But I think part of the point here is that it doesn’t really matter what you call it." She added that the White House and Federal Reserve view is that "inflation will ease over time."

In July, Biden said that price increases from inflation were temporary, Reuters reported.

In recent weeks, both Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said it was time to retire the term "transitory" when characterizing inflation.

REPORTER: "Does the president acknowledge that inflation is more entrenched and not transitory?"\n\nPSAKI: "Doesn't really matter what you call it"pic.twitter.com/FaM6XQxMKb
— RNC Research (@RNC Research) 1639166580

Inflation shot up even higher than expected in November, on fastest climb in 40 years



Inflation jumped to its highest levels in almost 40 years last month, slightly outpacing already negative expectations, new data from the U.S. Department of Labor showed.

The Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that the consumer price index, which measures the cost of goods and services in America, "rose 6.8% for the 12 months ending October, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending June 1982."

The disastrous numbers marked the sixth consecutive month of a year-over-year inflation increase of higher than 5%. In November alone, consumer prices jumped 0.8%. The month before, they increased 0.9%.

Food and energy prices once again led the way.

Energy prices shot up another 3.5% in November, making it a 33.5% surge since November 2020. Gasoline prices alone have skyrocketed 58.1% in that time period, while food prices have gone up 6.1% over the past year.

But even putting food and energy aside, the economic situation still looked bleak, as prices are up across the board.

CNBC reported that "excluding food and energy prices, so-called core CPI was up 0.5% for the month and 4.9% from a year ago, which itself was the sharpest pickup since mid-1991."

The Dow Jones estimate for the month was a 6.7% year-over-year increase.

The New York Times reported that "the rising costs spell trouble for officials at the Federal Reserve and the White House, who are trying to calibrate policy at a moment when the labor market has yet to completely heal from the pandemic, but the risk that price increases could become more lasting is increasing."

The White House and Federal Reserve officials have consistently blamed rising inflation numbers on the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic, but critics point to supply chain and labor shortage crises under way since the start of President Joe Biden's term.

“There’s no question, no matter how you look at it, even if you take out the extremes caused by the pandemic, it’s still very high inflation,” Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab, told CNBC. “This is still supply chain disruption, semiconductor-related inflation.”

In October, Biden said in a statement that "inflation hurts Americans' pocketbooks, and reversing this trend is a top priority for me."

But a month later, the situation has only gotten worse. The bad news will likely result in more bad polling for the president, who is already under water with voters. Last month, Biden's approval rating sank to just 38%, with many voters citing the economic downturn as a major reason for their disapproval.