Inflation Hits 8.5 Percent, Biden Administration Continues to Blame Putin

From the story: The Labor Department on Tuesday said the consumer-price index—which measures what consumers pay for goods and services—last month rose at its fastest annual pace since December 1981, up from the 7.9% annual rate in February. Rising prices have been unrelenting, with six straight months of inflation above 6% that is well above the Federal Reserve’s average 2% target (WSJ). 

From Ted Cruz: President Biden’s careless spending has resulted in Americans paying more and more for nearly everything (Twitter). 

White House advisor Jesse Lee, upset that not all are buying the absurd effort to blame inflation on Putin, said Republicans are “fully in lockstep in blaming Biden for Putin’s price hike” (Washington Examiner). 

Biden is doubling down with the “Putin price hike” charade with a tweet of his own (Twitter). 

Even Democrat Joe Manchin is calling on Biden to stop the Putin nonsense (Hot Air). 

From the Wall Street Journal editorial board: … the inflation trend began in earnest a year ago at the onset of the Biden Presidency. It has accelerated for most of the last 12 months. That’s long before Mr. Putin decided to invade. The timing reflects too much money chasing too few goods, owing mainly to the combination of vast federal spending and easy monetary policy (WSJ). 

From David Harsanyi: The Biden administration, in fact, spent a year downplaying inflation fears despite the warning signs, contending that inflation was only “transitory,” claiming that “nobody” was “suggesting there’s unchecked inflation on the way — no serious economist,” dismissing price spikes as a “high-class” problem, and arguing that higher prices might actually be a good thing (National Review). 

From Jim Geraghty: Compared to a year ago, you’re paying 48 percent more today for gasoline; 35.3 percent more for a used car; 21.6 percent more for your natural-gas bill; 13.7 percent more for meat, fish, and eggs; 12.5 percent more for a new car; 11.1 percent more for electricity; 10 percent more for food at home; 7.7 percent more for transportation; 6.9 percent more for food away from home; 6.8 percent more for apparel; and 5 percent more for shelter. Americans aren’t in a bad mood just because gas is much more expensive. They’re in a bad mood because just about everything is more expensive (National Review).