Underwood’s Better America: Cost of Living Skyrockets as Real Wages Drop.
OSWEGO, Ill. (April 12, 2022) – After the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its March Consumer Price Index reporting prices surged a further 8.5 percent over last year driven by sharp increases in food, energy and shelter costs, Kendall County Board Chairman, Scott Gryder released the following statement:
“A great leader once asked, ‘are you better off today than you were four years ago?’ Today the answer is clear.
Lauren Underwood promises a ‘better America’ for years to come, yet we find President Biden’s economy continues to cripple everyday Americans as inflation rages and keeps getting worse with an 8.5 percent increase over last year.
At the same time, Lauren Underwood continues her unconscionable pattern of hiding from her constituents and ducking accountability.
While Underwood refuses to stand up to Biden and his reckless policies on behalf of those she was elected to represent, virtually every sector of our economy is hit by rising cost to consumers – airline fares, home goods, vehicles, insurance, clothing, recreation, medical care – have all jumped.
Especially troubling is the astronomic pressure on our household budgets is largely due to food, energy, and housing prices climbing to levels we haven’t seen in decades.
Since last year, housing costs are up over 5 percent. The price we pay for gasoline rose by 48 percent, natural gas by 21.6 percent, and electricity by 11.1 percent over last year. The cost of putting food on our tables has spiked.
Today, Americans are increasingly worse off financially than at the height of the Covid pandemic. Workers and families are taking another big pay cut, with $5,700 in lost wages on average thanks to President Biden and Lauren Underwood’s failed leadership.
Topping off this dismal report issued by Biden’s own economic scorekeepers is worker’s real earnings aren’t keeping pace with the cost of living, falling by another 0.8% during the month, outpacing any pay gains and adding to the financial pressures the hard-working residents of this district face.
President Biden denied record-high inflation, then denied a crippling worker shortage. It is clear from today’s devastating report that America is in a wage-price spiral that worsens each month.
We now hear interest rates are on the rise. Enough. It’s time for a change.
As the next Representative from Illinois 14th Congressional District, I will stand up and fight against Biden’s disastrous economic policy that continues to wreak havoc on our household finances and individual prosperity.”
Currently serving as Kendall County Board Chairman, Scott Gryder is challenging Lauren Underwood for the future of Illinois 14th District on behalf the hard-working people he meets every day who are struggling under the Biden-Underwood economy.
Original source can be found here.
