In polling by the Associated Press, six in ten Americans say gift prices are higher than usual, with 45 percent of American families earning less than $50,000 saying it has been harder to afford gifts this holiday season. 

In fact, one estimate from America’s Research Group found that Bidenflation is forcing America’s low-income families to slash their holiday budgets by 20 percent. 

This comes after a new Penn-Wharton analysis found that Bidenflation forced American families to spend around $3,500 more in 2021 to buy the same products as they had in recent years. 

KEY EXCERPTS:

• “Emarilis Velazquez is paying higher prices on everything from food to clothing. Her monthly grocery bill has ballooned from $650 to almost $850 in recent months. […] For the holidays, she’s scaling back on gifts. She plans to spend $600 on her three young children instead of $1,000, and she won’t be buying any gifts for relatives.”
• “Overall, rising prices are changing shopping habits for many Americans. […] [F]or lower-income households with little or no cash cushions, they’re making harder choices such as whether they can put food on the table or if they’ll have to drastically scale back on holiday presents for their children — or forgo them completely.”
• “Overall, four in ten Americans say it has been harder to afford the things they want to give as gifts this year. Roughly half say it’s neither easier nor harder, while few say it has been easier. But people in lower income groups are feeling the cost pressures most acutely.”

KEY BACKGROUND:

• The San Francisco Federal Reserve has found that President Biden’s so-called “stimulus” earlier this year contributed to inflation and worsened the labor shortage. (Analysis)
• A top Federal Reserve official warned in October of growing risks of inflation, including from additional government spending being contemplated by the Biden administration.
• The IMF announced that the U.S. is tied for the highest level of inflation among the top 35 developed economies.
• The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) found that a historically high number of small businesses are being forced to raise prices. 

READ: Price-mageddon: Historically High Number of Small Businesses Forced to Raise Prices