Trump says inflation has cost households $28,000. Is that true?

Former President Donald Trump regularly criticizes President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris implicit what inflation is costing families, citing 1 fig successful particular. 

At a Las Vegas rally connected Sept. 13, Trump blamed Harris for causing "the worst ostentation successful American history, costing america and the emblematic household $28,000." He besides highlighted the $28,000 fig astatine caller rallies successful Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

Under President Biden, year-over-year ostentation — oregon the gait of terms increases — peaked astatine 9.1% successful June 2022, the highest monthly fig successful astir 40 years, but it has since cooled considerably. In August, ostentation deed a three-year debased of 2.5%. 

Lower ostentation means the complaint of terms increases has slowed, but not that prices themselves person decreased. CBS News' terms tracker shows the outgo of mundane household expenses stay higher compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Economists told CBS News that Trump's $28,000 fig is mostly correct. Citing the fig connected its own, however, ignores the important discourse that ostentation led to income growth, not conscionable terms hikes. Data indicates that implicit the past 3 and a fractional years, galore Americans person seen a nett affirmative summation successful their finances.

Where the $28,000 fig comes from

The estimation that ostentation has outgo the emblematic American household $28,000 since Mr. Biden took bureau is accordant with an ostentation tracker from Republicans connected Congress' Joint Economic Committee. 

The tracker is based connected authorities information from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of state-level idiosyncratic depletion expenditures — 1 measurement of spending connected goods and services. 

The survey tracked monthly costs for the mean American household successful each authorities since January 2021. From that constituent done July 2024, the mean cumulative summation successful household costs among each 50 states and Washington, D.C., was $27,950, owed to inflation. In an update for August 2024, the summation roseate to astir $29,000.

Economists told CBS News the estimation for the full summation successful household costs successful the past 3 and a fractional years is apt successful the close range. Experts mostly hold that household costs person accrued since January 2021, though the precise fig differs depending connected the circumstantial metrics used.  

Comparing terms increases nether Trump and Biden

The Republicans connected the Joint Economic Committee told CBS News they did not bash a akin investigation of however household costs changed nether Trump's administration.

Government information shows prices besides grew nether Trump, but by overmuch less. The Consumer Price Index for each items increased by astir 8% implicit Trump's 4 years successful office. By comparison, the full summation successful user prices frankincense acold nether Biden is astir 20%. 

Of course, the 2 faced markedly antithetic economical circumstances during their clip successful the White House. 

While Trump's medication enjoyed debased ostentation and steadfast occupation maturation for overmuch of his clip successful office, the pandemic leveled the system toward the extremity of his term. Early successful the Biden administration, ostentation reached modern highs arsenic the system recovered from employment and planetary proviso concatenation disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many other countries astir the satellite besides saw precocious ostentation owed to the pandemic — successful immoderate cases acold higher than the U.S.

The Federal Reserve believes keeping ostentation astatine a low, unchangeable complaint of astir 2% year-over-year is champion for a good functioning system wherever radical and businesses tin program financially. It's emblematic for prices to turn passim a statesmanlike term. A simplification successful prices, oregon deflation, is mostly not thought of arsenic desirable by economists, and terms increases are considered a diagnostic of a steadfast economy. 

How incomes person fared nether Biden

Economists accidental terms increases should beryllium compared to income increases to afloat recognize however ostentation is affecting people's finances.

Mark Zandi of the autarkic Moody's Analytics told CBS News that owed to inflation, the median American household spent $905 much successful August 2024 to acquisition the aforesaid goods and services than they did successful August 2021. However, the median household made $1,073 much successful August 2024 than it did 3 years ago.

Cumulatively, the Democrats connected the Joint Economic Committee told CBS News that their calculations amusement the mean household earned $35,390 successful further wages and salaries betwixt the commencement of Mr. Biden's word and July 2024 — a fig that's much than $7,000 greater than the full summation successful household costs implicit that clip play estimated by the committee's Republicans.

As of past year, Americans' incomes had rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. According to the astir caller information from the U.S. Census, successful 2023, median household income rose a steadfast 4%, to $80,610, connected par with net successful 2019 connected an inflation-adjusted basis. 

Another mode to measurement the fiscal wellness of Americans is to look astatine authorities information connected real disposable idiosyncratic income, which reflects after-tax income adjusted for inflation. This income fig includes not lone wages and salaries but besides income from investments and authorities subsidies. 

Disposable idiosyncratic income has been higher connected mean during Mr. Biden's word than it was successful December 2020, Trump's past afloat period successful office. According to Gary Burtless, an economist and elder chap astatine the Brookings Institution, existent disposable idiosyncratic income per idiosyncratic has been supra $49,407 — wherever it was successful December 2020 — for 30 of the 43 months of Mr. Biden's word truthful far.

"Given that Americans' existent existent incomes person accrued implicit the people of the Biden administration, it's a small hard to spot the ground for claiming that 'inflation nether Biden has outgo the emblematic U.S. household $28,000,'" Burtless said.

In:
• Kamala Harris
• Donald Trump
• Inflation
• 2024 Elections