Commentary
Each bit of inflation news discredits Washington’s excuses.
America recently received still more bad inflation news. The Labor Department reported that its benchmark consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.3 percent in June and stood 9.1 percent above year-ago levels.
This news makes any administration excuses for these price pressures even less convincing than they were and makes still more ridiculous Washington’s claims last year that price pressures would be “transitory.” The picture now is clear and beyond cavil: the nation’s inflation problem is fundamental.
The CPI figures are simply terrifying. Pressures are widespread. Food prices rose 1.0 percent in June and are 10.4 percent above year-ago levels. Food at home costs 12.2 percent more than it did a year ago. Energy prices overall rose 7.5 percent in June and stand 41.6 percent above where they were in June of 2021. Gasoline prices rose 11.2 percent in June alone and are a whopping 60 percent higher than a year ago….