From WSJopinion: Fighting inflation will be difficult, but playing it down will make matters worse, writes BillGalston. Americans want to see their leaders working on what the people think are the most important problems, even if progress is slow.
Tucked away in the latest NBC survey is a question that deserves the full attention of the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress: “Do you think that your family’s income is going up faster than the cost of living, staying about even with the cost of living, or falling behind the cost of living?” Only 7% of respondents reported that they were getting ahead and 31% that they were breaking even, while 61% said they were falling behind.
They are not exaggerating. A recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that while wages rose rapidly during 2021, overall prices rose much faster. On average, corrected for inflation, workers experienced a 2.4% drop in the purchasing power of their hourly wages. And because hours worked remained steady, this drop extended to weekly and monthly paychecks.