The Consumer Price Index — a measure of inflation in the economy — hit a four-decade high in March, a brutal reminder for Democrats of the political headwinds facing them as they seek to keep their majorities in the House and Senate this fall.
Prices rose 8.5% from March 2021 to March 2022, while they increased 1.2% from February to March. Half of the increase in the CPI was due to rising gas prices in March. The Biden administration had been expecting a bad CPI number. “We expect March CPI headline inflation to be extraordinarily due to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s price hike,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday. (It’s worth noting here that inflation had been surging prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the United States’ decision to stop importing all Russian oil.) The problem for Biden (and his party) is that it’s not at all clear that people care why everything they are trying to buy costs more. All they know is that gas prices are through the roof — although they are lower this week than last — and everything they want or need to buy costs more (a lot more) than it did a year ago.
