WASHINGTON—New data released Tuesday showed the monthly inflation rate shot up to 1.2% in March, with overall prices increasing 8.5% compared to March 2021. Core prices (excluding energy and food) rose 0.3% last month, up 6.5% over the past year. Higher prices have cost the average American family $2,445 in real annual income since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.

EJ Antoni, research fellow for regional economics with The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis, released the following statement Tuesday in response to these dismal numbers: 

“Under the Biden administration, the American people have become demonstrably poorer. The dramatic rise in prices that we’re seeing means that American families can't buy as much today as they could just 14 months ago. Prices have surged so rapidly that real earnings—earnings adjusted for price changes—have dropped 4.5% on Biden’s watch.

“While COVID lockdowns and reckless government spending have caused significant economic harm, the Federal Reserve has also been asleep at the wheel by enabling the federal government’s spending spree with its money-printing policies.  

“Meanwhile, Americans are losing savings and purchasing power from the ‘hidden’ tax of inflation. If President Biden and others are serious about helping working Americans, they need to take responsibility for the mess they created, cut government spending, and end the regulatory war on American energy production.”