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

Economic recovery is complicated: Weekly jobless claims falls to historic low as inflation keeps rising



New weekly jobless claims have fallen to the lowest level in more than half a century, according to numbers released by the Biden administration Wednesday. At the same time, prices rose at the fastest rate since the early 1990s, as inflation continues to spike.

The Department of Labor reported that seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims fell by 71,000 last week to 199,000. This is the lowest number of initial claims since Nov. 15, 1969, when Richard Nixon was president.

The report marks a milestone for the labor market's recovery from the pandemic. Through 2019, there were an average 218,000 jobless claims each week. President Joe Biden celebrated the new numbers as a "historic jobs recovery" in a statement.

"More Americans are getting back to work and more Americans have money in their pockets, thanks to the American Rescue Plan and the vaccination campaign," Biden said.

Economists say the sharp drop in unemployment benefits claims is an encouraging sign, continuing several strong months of job growth and consumer spending as Americans look forward to the holiday shopping season.

"Claims have been moving in the right direction and are sending a positive signal about the labor market. Businesses are wary of letting go of workers amid a severe labor shortage," Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, explained in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Daniel Zhao, a senior economist with Glassdoor, concurred that employers are holding on tightly to whatever workers they can find amid a nationwide labor shortage.

As you can see from the above chart, this is in part due to the seasonal adjustment expecting a much larger jump in non-seasonally adjusted claims, so this dip below pre-crisis levels may be short-lived.\n\n#joblessclaims 2/
— Daniel Zhao (@Daniel Zhao) 1637762799

"Getting new claims below the 200,000 level for the first time since the pandemic began is truly significant, portraying further improvement," Mark Hamrick, chief economic analyst at Bankrate.com, said.

"The strains associated with higher prices, shortages of supplies and available job candidates are weighed against low levels of layoffs, wage gains and a falling unemployment rate," he told The Hill. "Growth will likely be above par for the foreseeable future, but within the context of historically high inflation which should relax its grip on the economy to some degree in the year ahead."

Last month's jobs report said employers added 531,000 jobs in October, the largest monthly gain in three months. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.6% from 4.8%, according to the Department of Labor, although the U.S. economy still has four million fewer jobs than in February 2020, before "two weeks to slow the spread."

But while joblessness appears to be falling, price increases are hitting all Americans directly in their pocketbooks.

According to the Commerce Department, prices for personal consumption expenditures excluding food and energy increased 4.1% from a year ago, CNBC News reports. Including food and energy, the PCE index rose 5%, the fastest rate since November 1990.

"Inflation continued to be reflected most in surging energy costs, which rose 30.2% from a year ago, while food prices increased 4.8% during the span," CNBC reported. "Services inflation gained 6.3%, the same as in September, while goods inflation jumped 7.3%, up from the 6.4% pace in the previous month."

Americans are noticing. A Yahoo News/YouGov survey published Wednesday found that 37% of Americans say inflation has impacted them "a great deal" and 40% say it has had "some" impact. Rising prices may be affecting Biden's job approval, as the same poll showed that only 43% of adults approved of the president's performance.

Biden acknowledged that rising inflation is complicating economic recovery in his statement. He called on Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act, asserting that his nearly $2 trillion spending proposal will "cut costs for American families without adding to price pressures."

"We have more work to do before our economy is back to normal, including addressing prices increases that hurt Americans' pocketbooks and undermine gains in wages and disposable income," Biden said.

"Today's data reinforce the historic economic progress we are making and the importance of building on that progress in the weeks ahead."

​October sees 30-year high inflation increase, Biden's Labor Department reports



The Biden economy keeps smashing records — for inflation.

According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index for October recorded a 6.2% increase over the last year. It is the largest increase in prices for consumer goods recorded in more than 30 years.

Looking at just October, the CPI increased .9%, growing faster than in the months of July, August, or September.

The largest price increases month-to-month were for energy, up 4.8%, food up .9%, medical care services and shelter, each up .5%.

The price of gasoline rose 6.1% in October, its fifth consecutive monthly increase. Compared to last year, gas is a whopping 49.6% more expensive. Electricity was 1.8% more expensive in October.

New vehicle prices rose 1.4%, and used cars and trucks saw a 2.5% price increase last month as well. But compared to last year, used cars and trucks are 26.4% more expensive.

There were a few price decreases. Airline fares fell 0.7% and the price for alcoholic beverages decreased 0.2%.

But the stark reality is that the prices keep going up for goods every American needs to buy every week to keep living, leaving everyone with less money in their pockets.

For example, the average price for a carton of orange juice in January 2020 was $3.29. After the pandemic, OJ costs consumers an average $3.53 per carton.

"A dozen eggs used to cost on average $2.20, but are now up to $2.52. Chicken breast has risen to $3.24 a pound from $2.99 a pound, fresh ground beef is up to $5.93 per pound, sandwich bread up from $2.44 a loaf to $2.77, and a pound of bacon up from $4.72 to a sizzling $6.45," NBC News reported.

Americans are noticing, and recent polls suggest they're blaming the guy in charge. President Joe Biden's job approval plummeted to a dismal 38% in a recent USA Today/Suffolk University poll. The economy ranked as one of the most important issues surveyed that registered voters said Biden needs to focus on.

"Inflation hurts Americans pocketbooks, and reversing this trend is a top priority for me," President Joe Biden said in a statement on the economic news.

"The largest share of the increase in prices in this report is due to rising energy costs—and in the few days since the data for this report were collected, the price of natural gas has fallen. I have directed my National Economic Council to pursue means to try to further reduce these costs, and have asked the Federal Trade Commission to strike back at any market manipulation or price gouging in this sector," the president said.

BIden said he will be traveling to Baltimore Wednesday to discuss how the recently passed bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure law will address these economic issues. He also called on Congress to pass his "Build Back Better" plan, a multitrillion spending proposal that will expand social safety-net programs and enact Biden's climate agenda.

Economists attribute the rise in consumer prices to ongoing supply chain issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as loose monetary policy from the Federal Reserve and massive coronavirus spending bills passed by Congress.

But in a statement made last week, the Federal Reserve maintained that inflation is "transitory" and that rising prices are needed in the short term to meet the Fed's target average of 2 percent in the long term. Since inflation has been lower than average for several years, the Fed wants to let it run "moderately above 2 percent for some time so that inflation averages 2 percent over time."

Bad weather and backed-up shipping are also driving up food prices, according to a financial analyst who spoke to NBC News.

"Various agricultural commodities — wheat, sugar, beef, and corn — are up by double-digit percentages this year and due to inclement weather and import backlogs, coffee prices are up over 50 percent year-to-date," Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate, said. "While energy prices are up due to a surge in demand, food inflation is a consequence of supply chain constraints and unfavorable weather impacting harvests."

Those hit hardest by rising prices? People living on fixed income or public assistance, McBride said.