Washington D.C — Today, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index – the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation – showed that Republicans’ war in Iran and tariffs are jacking up inflation to its highest level in three years and eating into Americans’ pocketbooks. It’s no wonder that consumer sentiment is at an all-time low. From voting for drastic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP to cost-raising tariffs to their unnecessary war in Iran, congressional Republicans are squeezing Americans on all sides.
“Today’s report confirms what millions of Americans already knew – Republicans in Congress are ripping money out of working families’ hands for no good reason,” said Unrig Our Economy Campaign Director Leor Tal. “Gas prices are through the roof and grocery prices are skyrocketing, but Republicans in Congress are busy debating funding for a ballroom, shelling out tax breaks for billionaires, and backing a needless war in the Middle East. It’s long past time for Republicans in Congress to start looking out for working families, not their billionaire buddies.”
CNN: Inflation is at a three-year high — and now many Americans are burning through their savings.
Key Points:
- The Iran war’s oil price shock pushed the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge to 3.8% last month, its highest rate in nearly three years, new data showed Thursday.
- When stripping out gas and food costs, a closely watched measurement of underlying inflation ticked up to 3.3% for the year ending in April.
- Much of last month’s spending increase was on gas and other essentials: Fuel, energy, utilities, housing and food accounted for roughly half of the spending gains.
- The US-Israeli war with Iran has sent shockwaves through the global economy. Shipping traffic in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz has slowed to a trickle, choking off a vital waterway for the trade of oil, natural gas, fertilizer and other critical materials.
- The war-driven shock has sent gas prices sharply higher, started to push up the price of food (notably fresh produce) and threatens to make other goods and services more expensive.
- Underlying inflation continues to move higher largely because of President Donald Trump’s slew of tariffs on imported goods, Stephen Juneau, senior US economist at Bank of America Securities, wrote in a note to investors this week.
- A separate report from the Commerce Department on Thursday showed that the US economy grew at a slower pace than previously reported in the first quarter.
To learn more about the campaign, visit UnrigOurEconomy.com or contact press@unrigoureconomy.com
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About Unrig Our Economy
Unrig Our Economy is a national campaign to fix the rules of our economy to make it work for working people. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, their wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable.