Residents across Connecticut are feeling the squeeze of inflation from housing, food, and gas. The Consumer Price Index rose 1% in May to 8.6% for the year.
That’s the biggest year-to-year jump since December 1981.
And if it feels like everything you buy got more expensive, that’s because it did, with some staggering increases across the board.
Energy prices as a sector rose 3.9% from a month ago, and for the last 12 months they’ve grown by more than a third and fuel oil posted a 16.9% monthly gain, meaning prices have more than doubled in the last 12 months 106.7%.
Consumers are also paying more at the grocery store. Food prices rose another 1.2% in May. They’re now up 10.1% from last year.
And housing rose more than a half percent in May, the fastest one-month gain since March 2004. The 5.5% annual gain is the most since February 1991.
The rise in inflation means workers lost ground with real wages decreasing more than a half percent from April and 3% on an annual basis.
The Federal Reserve is expected to meet next week to discuss raising interest rates again to help slow inflation.
Meanwhile, Connecticut politicians are fighting over who to blame.
Republicans want to blame Democrats, but Democrats say it’s a global issue and there’s nothing they can do about world economic conditions.
“Once again, we are reminded of the pain Joe Biden and Dick Blumenthal’s reckless economic policies inflict on Connecticut’s families,” Themis Klarides, one of the three Republicans running for an opportunity to challenge U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal in the fall, said.
“Literally printing money to finance trillions of new spending is the definition of reckless fiscal policy, but Biden and Blumenthal do it every day,” Klarides said. “When pressed for answers, their response is ‘spend more, tax more, blame someone else.’ The people of Connecticut should not accept that. Press conferences do not solve a generational inflation crisis, but smart and responsible legislating can. Unfortunately, Senator Blumenthal only knows how to do one of those things.”
Meanwhile, Blumenthal has been pushing to get the government to tax the windfall profits of oil companies.
“Big oil companies tripled and quadrupled their profits in the last quarter, exacting unprecedented pain at the pump for Connecticut consumers and that’s why Senator Blumenthal has proposed the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax that would give them rebates. He is also fighting for legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs and child care,” a Blumenthal spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.
President Joe Biden said Friday that the CPI report Friday underscores the reason he’s made fighting it a top priority.
“My administration will continue to do everything we can to lower prices for the American people. Congress must act urgently as well,” Biden said. “I call on Congress to pass a bill to cut shipping costs this month, and get it to my desk, so we can lower the price of goods. And, I call on Congress to pass legislation to cut costs for families like energy bills and prescription drugs. The deficit has come down more under my watch as President than at any time in history, but if Congress would pass tax reform to make the wealthiest Americans and big corporations pay their fair share, we could reduce this inflationary pressure even more. These are the most significant things Congress can do to help families now and complement the Federal Reserve’s efforts to bring inflation down.
