Huh. There's a whiff of Onion in the news today.
From CNBC, November 20:
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pointed to consistently higher prices that Americans pay for food and rent vs. pre-pandemic levels as a major factor driving voters’ negative outlook on the economy.
- “We’re making considerable progress in bringing inflation down. But Americans do notice higher prices from what they used to be accustomed to,” Yellen told CNBC.
- As President Joe Biden runs for reelection, the disparity between what the White House sees as “considerable progress” and what voters experience could be a major factor in the race.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pointed to the consistently higher prices that Americans pay for food and rent today, compared with pre-pandemic levels, as a major factor driving voters’ negative outlook on the economy.
“Although prices in general are rising less quickly, Americans still see increases in some important prices, including food, from where we were prior to the pandemic. And this remains notable to people who go to the store and shop,” Yellen said on CNBC’s Squawk Box Monday.
As overall inflation rates have come down over the past year, food prices have consistently outpaced baseline inflation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are lots of reasons for this, ranging from the war in Ukraine’s impact on grain prices to restaurants charging higher prices for menu items.
Rent price inflation also remains stubbornly high. “Rents are rising less quickly now, but are certainly higher than they were before the pandemic,” said Yellen....
...MUCH MORE
