Some perspective on US inflation
How have prices changed from 2000 to 2023?
The buying power of $1 in 2000 equals the buying power of $1.79 today, meaning we lost about 3 cents each year on average. Inflation rates compare the year to the previous year of cost on products and services. The average inflation rate for 2000 was 3.36%. The rate for September was 3.7%. The lowest inflation rate for a four-year presidential period was during the Obama presidency, with one month almost 0% and leaving the Trump presidency with around a 1.5% rate and a strong economy to start with.
The Biden presidency inherited a relatively low inflation rate largely due to the COVID pandemic, shuttering of businesses and a business slump worldwide. Due to recovery legislation to restart the economy and avoid a serious depression, a lot of money was seeking a very limited supply in goods across the board, largely caused by huge supply chain backorders and delivery issues. This caused large price increases as is the natural result of limited supply and a good amount of spendable cash available. A little over a year ago, the monthly inflation rate peaked at 9.0% and dropped each month to around 3.4% now. Due to the Federal Reserve managing interest levels, and continued investment by the Biden administration, a recession is no longer a concern, and the economy is strong.
Thus, blaming President Biden for prices that are largely controlled by corporate and worldwide factors, as Republicans are doing, is wrong and political theater.