Inflation woes don’t consider gains from Biden admin

A letter in the Sept. 22 Gazette blamed inflation on the Biden-Harris administration. But let's look at the facts.

Economists will tell you higher food and energy prices initially resulted from increased demand coupled with supply chain disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022 exacerbated the problem. At the same time, the U.S. economy lost 23 million jobs as workers stayed home.

The Biden administration responded with federal dollars to aid the jobless and the small businesses that were forced to close. Interest rates were slashed to near zero. These actions contributed to high inflation but at the same time, the economy began to recover, as intended. In fact, thanks to the actions of the Biden-Harris administration during a global health and economic crisis, the U.S. economy recovered faster than all of the other G7 nations. And now:

* The annual inflation rate slowed for a fifth consecutive month to 2.5% in August.

* Wages are rising faster than inflation.

* Gas prices continue to decline to a national average of $3.24/gal, a nearly 60-cent drop from a year ago.

* The U.S. stock market is at an all-time high.

There is still work to be done, but over the last four years our country has been moving in the right direction and making families' lives better. Let's keep it going. Vote blue on Nov 5.

Sheri Albrecht

Solon