What to know about inflation right now
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 May 2024
⏱️ 21 minutes
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Summary
Today, what’s really happening with inflation in the United States. And what the public perception of the economy could mean for the 2024 presidential election.
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While inflation in the United States is still higher than normal, a streak of discouraging data finally broke in a report released Wednesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation is now slowing — from 3.5 percent in March to 3.4 percent in April — after months of hotter-than-expected reports. But it’s too early to know whether this trend will continue.
Economics reporter Rachel Siegel has been tracking what has felt like roller coaster inflation over the past few years and breaks down where the economy is at now — and how it may affect the 2024 presidential election. She also dives into how the latest economic numbers are playing out in terms of interest rates and their knock-on effect on America’s housing market.
Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick with help from Peter Bresnan. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Monica Campbell.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | So if you're like me you might have mixed feelings about how the U.S. |
| 0:07.5 | economy is doing these days. We're hearing how it's in pretty good shape, |
| 0:12.0 | but it doesn't always feel that way. |
| 0:15.6 | In polls, if you ask people how the economy is doing, if you ask people if the economy is |
| 0:19.6 | important, you get an overwhelming yes. |
| 0:21.4 | And also when you ask them why they think the economy is |
| 0:24.0 | bad inflation is the answer they give and you know inflation is one of those words |
| 0:28.2 | it's kind of a wonky economist word but I keep saying affordability people feel like |
| 0:32.2 | things aren't affordable |
| 0:33.2 | child care not affordable your house right now not affordable and yet some |
| 0:37.2 | recent news is out that inflation might be getting better the past year has shown us a lot of surprises with inflation. |
| 0:46.2 | We've come way down from the peaks from the middle of 2022. |
| 0:51.0 | Rachel Siegel is an economics reporter for the post and she has been tracking what's felt like roller coaster inflation over the past few years and where things are at right now. |
| 1:01.0 | It's not entirely clear if things are going to be sticking in a |
| 1:04.5 | discouraging direction or if maybe we're starting to see a little bit of |
| 1:07.8 | improvement again. But how the economy is actually doing it can be very different from how people perceive it. |
| 1:14.6 | You know, their impression is still that inflation is really high and that it's higher |
| 1:21.7 | than it should be and that it's higher than it should be and that it's higher than |
| 1:23.6 | feels good. People feel it when they check out at the grocery store, when they go to |
| 1:27.4 | paper gas, and so it's almost like there are two different stories. What's |
| 1:31.4 | happening with the minute numbers behind these new |
| 1:34.7 | inflation reports and the way it all still just feels. |
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