Yes, you may have heard some of this already, but read it anyway. The overall U.S. inflation rate in the U.S. rose 7% in 2021, marking the highest rate of inflation in 40 years! Inflation in 1982 was incredibly high, with credit card interest over 20%, it all but killed the real estate market, and a lot of other credit dependent businesses. And, the policies of the Joe Biden administration have led the way in boosting inflation rates to a new high this century and it doesn’t look like it’s not going to get better any time soon!

You’re recognizing the results of socialist and communist policies in the economy now, but just wait, they’re probably going to get worse. The cost of living in the U.S. increased 7% just in December! The December kicker boosted the inflation rate for 2021 to the highest level in 40 years—four decades, and that’s not opinion, that according to recent government reports just released.

Gas prices have more than doubled in the past 12 months! Yes, they dipped slightly in December—for the first time in six months—but even still prices rose for almost every other category from housing and food, to health care, clothing and vehicles. Used cars and trucks rose an astonishing 37.3%! In short, Americans paid more for everything they purchased in 2021, thank you Joe Biden and Democrats!

The Labor Department said in its monthly report on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) that consumer prices increased 0.5% in December after an increase of 0.8% in November. The CPI is a base line measure of what Americans pay for everyday items in a broad range form vegetables to fuel to cars. But, this was not just a year end surprise, this happened all year long with the consumer prices up 0.9% in October and in June. That was the biggest jump in prices since rocketing 1% in June 2008.

Overall food prices for the month rose 0.5% after increasing 0.7%. Food prices surged 6.3% in 2021, with the cost of groceries rising 6.5% and the cost of eating out up 6%.

Hamburger, beef and steak rose 35%-45% in Columbia, SC with prices at record levels.

Locally, in South Carolina we saw dramatic price increases in many consumer goods at various retail outlets. For example, in Columbia this writer experienced first hand the price for meat from hamburger to steak was up at the local butcher shop where the price of Rib Eye steak was up 35% from $12.99/lb mid-year to $19.99/lb in December! The same held true for warehouse stores in Columbia where meat went from $2.89/lb for hamburger in January 2021 to over $3.69/lb by year’s end. Lamb was up over $2.00/lb a 28% increase. Rib Eye steak was up $7.00/lb over January last year—that’s 35%! Even stew beef was stoutly up over 30%. Chicken was no better, rising over 30% and in some cases 40% in Columbia, SC, and the typical pack reduced from 8 or 10 pieces to one less per pack.

In several key consumer pricing categories:

Nationally, prices at the pump dipped 0.5% in December, for their first drop since May, but that was after two straight 6.1% monthly increases. Gas prices saw their biggest 12-month increase since April 1980. The CPI says they rose 49.6% from a year earlier and up 58.1% year-over-year.

Energy prices climbed 29.3% in the past 12 months. The broader index for energy, which combines items like gasoline, electricity, and fuel oil, edged 0.4% lower last month after rising 3.5% in November. Energy commodities rose 48.9%; Gasoline (all types) rose 49.6%, and; Fuel oil rose 41.0%! Current Biden policies appear to be throwing the U.S. economy towards a recession.

Core consumer prices rose 0.6% in December after rising 0.5% in November, and that was excluding food and energy components. This was the highest gain since April 1982.

In 2020 under the Trump administration gas prices in South Carolina dropped to their lowest level since at least 2005. In 2021, just after the Biden administration took control, gas prices jumped up sharply and in 2022 stand at their highest level since at least 2006. Photo courtesy NBC Los Angeles.

The Labor Department report said, “This was the sixth time in the last 9 months [CPI] has increased at least 0.5 percent. Along with the indexes for shelter and for used cars and trucks, the indexes for household furnishings and operations, apparel, new vehicles, and medical care all increased in December,”

Housing costs ran 0.4% quicker following two straight months of 0.5% gains, and they rose 4.1% from a year earlier. Components of shelter include pricing items like rent for apartments, rental equivalence, lodging away from home such as hotels and motels, and housing at schools. The index accounts for about one-third of the entire CPI.

Corporate economist Robert Frick of Navy Federal Credit Union said, “With the exception of energy prices, which are dropping, the main drivers of the highest inflation since 1982 will remain high for the foreseeable future.”

The auto market saw incredible increases last year. New vehicle prices surged 11.8% in 2021, while used car and truck prices soared to 37.3% in 2021.

Bloomberg News quoted economists Andrew Husby and Yelena Shulyatyeva as saying, “The December CPI showed strong demand and supply bottlenecks still at play, with goods inflation driven higher by auto and apparel prices. A step-down in services prices may prove misleading, with shelter costs set to be a growing source of upward pressure in 2022.”

Clothing prices increased 1.7% in December after rising 1.3% in November. They climbed 5.8% from a year earlier.

Inflation advanced 7% year-over-year, marking the highest 12-month inflation rate since June 1982 and after jumping 6.8% previously.

Core inflation surged 5.5% over the past year, registering as the largest increase since the annual period ending February 1991 and compares to 4.9% previously. The core, “all items less food and energy” index is one of the benchmark inflation rates monitored by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) as it helps the central bank decide where to set its key interest rate.

Chief economist Diane Swonk, at Grant Thornton in Chicago, was quoted by Reuters as saying, “This is the first time the Fed has chased instead of trying to preempt a nonexistent inflation since the 1980s”. She warned Americans to “Brace yourselves.”

Michael Reed is Editor and Publisher of The Standard newspaper, print and online, and TheStandardSC YouTube channel where many video reports may be found. Please share freely and donate to The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.

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