CONSUMER prices jumped sharply last month, rising more than previously forecast for just about everything we buy, from a gallon of gas to the food we eat. Its bad enough that over the past six years Americans have had to suffer from painfully weak economic growth, too few jobs, flat wages and rising taxes, under President Obamas policies. But now were facing rising inflation that economists say will only get worse. Consumer prices increased at more than a 4 percent annual rate in May, rising for the second month in a row, pushing inflation in the past year to its highest level since 2012, according to the Department of Labor. Food prices alone rose 0.5 percent in May, the sharpest rise in three years. Theyre up by 2.5 percent in just the last 12 months, the fastest in almost two years. Energy prices were rising at an even faster rate, up by 0.9 percent -- led by higher electricity and gasoline rates. The reason: administration regulatory policies that have pushed up utility costs, stymied oil exploration and blocked completion of the Canadian oil pipeline. Economics columnist Robert J. Samuelson called the presidents opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico an act of national insanity. Other economists have been equally critical of his oil policies. Obama has not been willing to open up drilling for oil off the Atlantic, Pacific and much of the Gulf coasts. That keeps America dependent on imported oil, and sends consumer dollars abroad instead of creating jobs here, says University of Maryland business economist Peter Morici. Certainly, the war in Iraq has been a major factor, too, as the global price of crude oil has shot up in response to the crisis in the Middle East. But gas prices under this administrations anti-fossil fuel policies have been rising for sometime and will go higher. The national average price for a gallon of regular climbed to over $3.66 this week -- compared to $1.90 a gallon on the day Obama was inaugurated. This didnt happen by accident. During Obamas 2008 presidential campaign, his senior energy adviser, Steven Chu, told The Wall Street Journal: Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe. At that time, the price of gasoline in Europe was about $9 a gallon, and soon after, Obama made Chu is Energy secretary. In the last week, the national average [price of a gallon of regular gasoline] has risen 2 cents per gallon, but in some states the pain at the pump is worse than others, GasBuddy reported this week.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 12:35:35 +0000
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