JEC Republicans: Inflation is Harming Low Income Americans the Most

WASHINGTON—Today, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, released new research from Joint Economic Committee Republicans finding that inflation is disproportionately harming poor and middle class Americans.

The research shows that poor and middle class households experience inflation differently than the highest earning households, and the differences are stark. Surging prices for everyday items like food, gas, and housing—the largest contributors to October’s 6.2% annual increase in CPI—disproportionately impact the lowest earning American households, who spent 4.5 times more of their income on housing and food, and 3.5 times more of their income on transportation, than the highest earning households.

Inflation is a defining piece of the post-COVID economic recovery. The evidence suggests that rising prices are depressing economic growth and harming poor Americans the most.

Click here to read our findings and recommendations.

The Joint Economic Committee is Congress’s bicameral economic research center and home of the Social Capital Project, led by Ranking Member Mike Lee.

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