U.S. House Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) took issue this week with President Joe Biden's mammoth spending after a well-regarded polling organization reported that more Americans are experiencing hardship because of rising prices.
Calvert issued his statement on his website on Tuesday, Sept. 13, the same day the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget weighed in on the Biden administration's estimated $4.8 trillion in new borrowing.
U.S. House Rep. Ken Calvert
| Facebook/RepKenCalvert
"Just last week, a nationwide Gallup poll found that price increases are causing a financial hardship for a majority of American households," Calvert said on his website. "Today's new inflation data shows things are only getting worse, not better."
Calvert referred to the inflation rate reported for August, higher than the same month last year "and remains at a near 40-year high."
"Grocery prices skyrocketed 13.5% in August, the largest increase in 43 years," Calvert continued, citing information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Making matters even worse, wages are not keeping up with inflation. Real average hourly earnings fell over the last year. That means workers are effectively taking a pay cut."
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is being decidedly tone deaf, Calvert said.
"Adding insult to injury, President Biden is holding an event today 'celebrating' the passage of legislation he promised would lower inflation," Calvert said, according to his website. "President Biden's economic policies aren’t working. In fact they are hurting American families. We can’t spend our way out of inflation. We desperately need to take our country in a different direction to provide American families with relief."
Calvert was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, and he has represented the 42nd Congressional District since 2013, according to Ballotpedia. Calvert received more than 48% of the vote in the nonpartisan primary for the 41st Congressional House District, well ahead of second-place National Security Prosecutor Will Rollins (D). Calvert and Rollins will face each other in November's general election.
The 41st Congressional House District is located in western Riverside County and includes the cities of Perris, Moreno Valley and Riverside.
Calvert's statement came less than a week after Gallup released a poll that found an increasing number of Americans say they are facing hardship. The Gallup poll released Sept. 7 found that 56% of those polled said rising prices are causing hardship, an increase over the 49% who reported the same thing in January.
The poll also found that more middle- and upper-income Americans reported they are experiencing hardship and that most are responding by cutting back on their spending and canceling travel.
Low-income Americans are more likely to be affected than those with higher incomes. About 26% of those surveyed have annual household incomes of less than $48,000, and those respondents said higher prices are causing their families severe hardship. That number compares with 12% of middle-income Americans and 4% of upper-income Americans who participated in the poll.
The Gallup poll is not the only measure of inflation reported this month. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the current rate of inflation, 8.3%, is roughly in line with the rate of inflation over the first half of 2022. Last year's high, 7%, was reported in December, while the highest rate of inflation this year, 9.1%, was reported in June.
The bureau also reported on Tuesday, Sept. 13, that the Consumer Price Index experienced areas with the largest increase in August in food, shelter and medical care. The food-at-home price index rose 13.5% over the last 12 months, the largest increase since 1979. Over the past 12 months, the cost of medical care and shelter increased by 5.6% and 6.2%, respectively.
Those consumer price index areas of increase were offset by a 10.6% decline in gasoline prices.
The Washington Post reported in July that many different factors contributed to the current high rate of inflation. Those factors include supply chain issues, the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The previous month, NPR reported that the factors leading to inflation include high gas prices, a competitive job market and pandemic relief, in addition to global factors.