“In case you haven’t noticed, inflation is down, too, and it’s going lower,” President Joe Biden said Tuesday during a speech in Milwaukee to tout his economic agenda.
But many Americans haven’t noticed. In a CBS News/YouGov poll from late July, 69% of U.S. adults said prices had been going up in the last few weeks (versus 6% who said prices were going down), and 70% said their income was not keeping up with inflation. In another July poll by CNBC, 79% of U.S. adults rated the economy’s current state as fair or poor, with inflation given as the most frequent reason. In an August CNN poll, only 30% of Americans approved of Biden’s handling of inflation.
Who has their facts right on inflation? As is often the case in politics, the answer is: it depends. It depends on what is meant by “inflation,” what is meant by “down,” and what is meant by “going lower.” Let me explain.