GOP slams Biden for ‘out of touch’ inflation celebration

WASHINGTON — Republicans on Tuesday slammed President Biden for throwing an “inflation reduction” celebration at the White House, even though annual inflation remains highly elevated at 8.3%.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) chastised Biden ahead of the lawn party after the release of data from August showed a drop in gasoline prices offset by continued 12-month jumps in the cost of food (13.5%), electricity (15.8%), rent (6.8%) and health insurance (24.3%).

“You can’t make it up: Hours after this terrible inflation report, the White House is hosting an ‘inflation reduction’ celebration,” McConnell tweeted. “Democrats have spent our economy into disaster and now they’re partying while families pay. They could not look more out of touch if they tried.”

Biden’s staff repeatedly plugged the South Lawn festivities — celebrating passage last month of the Inflation Reduction Act environmental and healthcare spending bill— in tweets from his account.

One presidential social media post said, “Exactly four weeks ago, I signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law.So today, we’re celebrating. Tune in at 3 PM ET as I deliver remarks and welcome the leaders and advocates who made it happen to the People’s House.”

The conservative group Americans for Prosperity quote-tweeted Biden — adding a GIF from the TV show “Schitt’s Creek” ironically concurring with the celebration while noting 12-month increases in the cost of eggs (up 39.8%), meat (8.8%) and baby food (12.6%).

The Republican staff on the House Ways and Means Committee tweeted, “For a majority of low-income households, rising prices have become a source of ‘major financial stress’ as inflation has wiped out 26 million low-income households’ savings since Biden took office. The so-called ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ is, ironically, set to make things worse.”

“Grocery costs have surged 13.5 percent over the last year — a 43-year high!” wrote Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.). “It’s no surprise 78 percent of hourly workers are unsure they’ll be able to afford food in the next two weeks. #Bidenflation is draining Americans’ wallets and savings accounts. Plain and simple.”

Republicans and independent analysts say that despite its name, the Inflation Reduction Act will have little — if any — positive near-term effect on inflation, which this year soared to 41-year highs, peaking at 9.1% in June.

Studies by the Penn Wharton Budget Model and the Tax Foundation say the bill won’t lower prices — at least not in the near future.

The Inflation Reduction Act provides nearly $400 billion for environmental programs, including tax credits of up to $7,000 to buy electric vehicles, and roughly $64 billion to extend more generous COVID-19-era ObamaCare subsidies.

The spending is offset by new taxes on corporations, including a new 15% corporate minimum tax, increased IRS enforcement and by allowing Medicare to directly negotiate drug prices.

Although the annual inflation rate in August of 8.3% nudged lower from 8.5% in July and 9.1% in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that new monthly data included worrying news as well — as a demand-driven decline in gas prices offset other increases.

“Increases in the shelter, food, and medical care indexes were the largest of many contributors to the broad-based monthly all items increase. These increases were mostly offset by a 10.6-percent decline in the gasoline index,” the official report said.

“The food index continued to rise, increasing 0.8 percent over the month as the food at home index [groceries] rose 0.7 percent. The energy index fell 5.0 percent over the month as the gasoline index declined, but the electricity and natural gas indexes increased. The index for all items less food and energy [core inflation] rose 0.6 percent in August, a larger increase than in July.”

Republicans and some independent analysts say government spending fueled inflation. A study released in March by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said that in the final quarter of 2021, about 3 percentage points of US inflation — or roughly half of it at the time — may have been caused by federal spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, including Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act.