Biden-flation still a huge problem for president
To the editor:
While the Fed’s herculean interest rate hikes over the past 17 months have had an impact on the record inflation (40-year high) brought to us courtesy of the Biden Administration, many of the final numbers coming out of 2023’s close are still extremely troubling for most Americans.
If you own a car (over 250 million vehicles in the U.S.), then you must have suffered some insurance rate “sticker shock” in 2023 and if you are a renter, (122 million households are renters – Pew Research), you have been suffering large rental rate increases since Biden took office. Prices for car insurance were up 20% compared with December 2022 while rents climbed 6.5%, according to the U.S. Labor Department. (See: U.S. inflation picks up more than expected in December bbc.com).
These are giant increases and will result in tens of billions of dollars of increased costs for Americans, not to mention the massive increase in mortgage interest rates for homebuyers. The average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage on 1/15/2024 was 6.93% (See Compare 30-Year Mortgage Rates Today | Bankrate) According to Rocket Mortgage, the rate for these mortgages was 3.7% in January 2021.
So, why is Joe Biden so unpopular and why do people feel poorer under this president’s “leadership? Well, if you don’t own a car and if you don’t rent or own a residence and if you do not consume food (average grocery price increase since 2021 is over 20%), then you would hardly notice what Biden has done to your purchasing power.
But, if you live, work, reside, raise a family or if you are retired in the United States, then you are poorer.
Max Christian
St. James City