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Fact Check Friday: Is the president responsible for lower or higher prices?

Consumer Prices
Posted at 8:42 AM, May 28, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-28 08:42:51-04

Many things cost more in 2021 than they did in 2020, but how much of that, if any, is the fault of the president?

A picture shared on Facebook by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and thousands of others compares the cost of things like gas and lumber in 2021 to those costs in 2020. The picture shows prices increased across the board and lays the blame at President Joe Biden's feet, and a caption from McCarthy reads "Instead of priming the pump, Bidenomics has emptied the tank.”

However, there is no mention of the pandemic or of surging demand.

"We're at a crossroads for the economy where we are seeing very clear evidence of exceptional demand," Michelle Meyer, managing director and head of US Economics of BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research, said. "The supply side economy is currently constrained."

David Wilcox, a senior fellow with the Peterson Institute and a former federal economist, said something similar.

"There are some supply constraints that are choking certain aspects of the economy," he said. "There are areas where demand is surging for the first time now in 15 months."

We could not find the specific data McCarthy used from Markets Insider, we did find information Business Insider.

Their information was close to what McCarthy posted, but we also compared both prices of items to what they were on the day Biden took office. On that day, prices were already well above where they were in April 2020.

Yes, commoditieis prices are higher today than they were a year ago, but you just can't say one person is responsible. Economists also belive that once supply catches up with demand, prices will start to come back down again.