How it started… How it’s going: Cost of shelter, auto insurance still up compared to when Biden took office

foxbusiness.com:

Former Reagan economist Art Laffer reacts to a recent report that consumer prices rose 2.9% year-over-year in July on ‘The Big Money Show.’

President Biden praised Wednesday’s U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing how inflation continued to fall in July, though he admitted that «prices are still too high» as millions of Americans grapple with a cost of living that remains higher than it was before Biden took office.

The Labor Department on Wednesday said that the consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost, rose 0.2% in July from the previous month, in line with expectations. Prices climbed 2.9% from the same time last year. It marked the lowest level of inflation since March 2021.

«We have more work to do to lower costs for hardworking Americans, but we are making real progress, with wages rising faster than prices for 17 months in a row,» Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

Data from the Labor Department shows that shelter, electricity, auto insurance and food away from home have all increased by double digits since January 2021. 

INFLATION RISES 2.9% IN JULY, LESS THAN EXPECTED

The cost of shelter was up 22.1% in July 2024 compared to January 2021, according to statistics from the Labor Department. (Fox Business / FOXBusiness)

The cost of shelter was up 22.1% in July, according to indexes tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Rent costs rose 0.3% for the month and are up 5.1% from the same time last year.

Food away from home costs were up 22.9% in July 2024 compared to January 2021, according to statistics from the Labor Department. (Fox Business / FOXBusiness)

Groceries cost 1.1% more than they did last year, and