Blame..

 

Inflation has become one of the top economic issues in the U.S., and the Biden administration is acting accordingly with various policy actions.

U.S. consumer prices rose 0.5% in December and 7.0% on a year-over-year basis, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's the fastest rate since 1982. 

Two of the biggest drivers of price spikes over 2021 have been in food and energy which is likely the reason the White House has focused on both of those sectors both for inflation as well as antitrust reasons. 

Tying the two issues together is not without critics, even among Democrats. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers posted a lengthy Twitter thread taking issue with “[a]ntitrust as an anti-inflation strategy” and has noted that Biden officials “flirt with the idea that it’s greedy meatpackers causing inflation."

But until then, it remains a front-burner issue with a recent AP-NORC poll finding the coronavirus down and inflation up when it comes to voter’s top priorities. And, in bad news for the Biden administration, another poll finds 3 in 5 voters place the blame on the president’s policies. Just a thought.