WASHINGTON – House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) released the following statement after the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed prices rising 17.6 percent since President Biden took office and a survey showed Americans expect inflation to still be elevated in five to 10 years:

“Workers and families are anxious and stressed about how they’ll afford basic goods and services today and what the future holds. Americans are quickly losing hope that tomorrow’s economy will be any better than today’s high prices and high interest rates, expecting high levels of inflation to still be around in five to 10 years. After more than three years of ‘Bidenomics,’ families are paying monthly bills with credit cards, have few savings to cover a potential emergency, and face mortgages with some of the highest rates that most Americans can even remember. It’s no wonder Americans think their lives will keep getting worse under President Biden.

“President Biden continues to disrespect working-class families by pretending the economy is growing. Families only have to look at their bank accounts to know that’s not true.”

Key Background:

• Prices have increased 17.6 percent since President Biden took office.
• Real wages and benefits have fallen nearly 4 percent since President Biden took office.
• Since President Biden’s first month in office, Americans have faced 33 straight months of rising prices.
• Inflation outpaced wages for 26 straight months of Biden’s presidency.
• Mortgage rates are now the highest since December, 2000. The average monthly mortgage payment has increased by $1,208 and is 107 percent higher than when President Biden took office in January 2021.
• Credit card interest rates are at the highest level in nearly three decades.
• 78 percent of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to a recent Associated Press-NORC poll.

“Bidenomics” In Action

• Middle-Class Families Have Run Out of Savings: Except for the wealthiest 20 percent, all other income groups have less cash now than before the pandemic.
• Working Americans Living Paycheck to Paycheck: The poorest 20 percent of Americans spend 80 percent of incomes on basic needs like food and housing.
• More Americans Earning Less: Median household income fell in 2022 for the third year in a row. 17 states saw median income fall, while only five states saw median income grow.
• Families Falling Behind on Bills: Credit card delinquencies rose in the second quarter to the highest levels in 11 years and car loans delinquency is at the highest levels on record because of rising interest rates.
• Higher Income Needed to Buy A Home: An American needs a salary of $114,627 to afford the median-priced home, up 15 percent from last year.
• Rising Foreclosures: Almost 125,000 properties were foreclosed on in the third quarter of this year, a 34 percent increase from last year and a stunning 28 percent increase from the second quarter.
• Senior Poverty Rising: In 2022, 14 percent of seniors were living in poverty, a three percentage point increase.