The only thing Biden understands about inflation is it's a political liability. It is because it hits home — in contrast to other administration economic statistics, inflation is the one Americans live.

Biden owns inflation: He bought it with massive spending and Americans are paying for it economically. Now, Biden's afraid he will have to pay for it politically.

Biden recently let fly at grocery stores for "ripping people off." He started by noting that “inflation is coming down” and is “now lower in America than any other major economy in the world.” 

He continued: “The cost of eggs, milk, chicken, gas and so many other essential items have come down. But for all we’ve done to bring prices down, there are still too many corporations in America ripping people off: price gouging, junk fees, greedflation, shrinkflation.”

As usual, what Biden says bears little resemblance to reality. Obviously, “the cost of essential items” has not come down, otherwise he would not be trying to escape the blame for them. Nor is inflation over, and even if it were, its impact would still be felt — as they are. 

 Mr. President, just because inflation increases at a slower rate doesn’t dissipate its effects. 

Inflation is not a snapshot statistic — as Biden and his administration imagine and wish — that means lower current readings equal current relief. Inflation is cumulative. If prices go up 50 percent in year one, and then 10 percent in year two, what had cost $100 still costs $165 now, not simply 10 percent more. It takes time for real wages to grow (minus inflation’s effect) to erase inflation’s impact. 

This is why Americans are still so negative about an economy that the administration and its apologists keep trying to say is strong. Inflation-infused prices have left them behind and all the stats in the world don’t matter if you’re getting less for your money than you got before.

Americans have been left behind by inflation for a prolonged period too — Biden’s entire term to be exact.  

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index was rising at a 1.4 percent rate when Biden took office in January 2021. By March, it was rising by 2.6 percent and by January 2022, it was skyrocketing by 7.5 percent. It peaked at 9.1 percent (a 40-year high) in June 2022 and in December was still 6.5 percent. A year later in December 2023, it was still rising at 3.4 percent. The Federal Reserve targets two percent for its acceptable rate: so, for 35 consecutive months in Biden’s presidency, inflation has been above this level. 

This has had an enormous cumulative impact on prices and the Americans paying them. The reason inflation has been so big is due in large part to Biden’s spending being even bigger.   

Over his first three years, Biden has spent both $5.9 trillion more than was spent in pre-pandemic 2019 and run deficits of $5.9 trillion — with another $1.6 trillion projected for 2024 and federal publicly held debt reaching $27.9 trillion, 99 percent of GDP. This is a massive amount of extra money pumped into America’s economy.

Biden’s excessive spending has helped over-weight demand relative to the supply of goods — too much money chasing too few goods. Naturally, prices rise as a result.

But that is only half of Americans’ pricing squeeze. The other half comes from the huge jump in interest rates that the Federal Reserve had to implement to cool Biden’s spending-infused inflation inferno. Eleven times the Fed was forced to hike rates, taking them from 0.25-0.50 percent in March 2022 to 5.25-5.50 percent in July 2023. 

So, Americans are trapped between inflation’s twin pressures: The prices they pay and the money they borrow. 

The president is right to be worried about prices, but he is wrong about the culprit. It’s not “greedflation” or “shrinkflation” as he claims, it’s Biden-flation.  It’s real and he’s really responsible. 

Biden is forever causing problems and blaming others — illegal immigration, foreign policy disasters and an America-last energy policy come quickly to mind. But inflation is one he cannot escape.  

Biden owns his “all show” and “no go” economy that he has thrust on working Americans. He bought it fair and square with massive spending, deficits and debt.

J.T. Young was a professional staffer in the House and Senate from 1987-2000, served in the Department of Treasury and Office of Management and Budget from 2001-2004, and was director of government relations for a Fortune 20 company from 2004-2023.