Propelled by surging gas, food and housing costs, consumer inflation jumped 7.9% over the past year, the sharpest spike since 1982. “Inflation is really killing us,” says U-S Senator Deb Fisher.
She says fuel oil is up 44 percent, used cars are up 41 percent and ground beef is up 13 and half percent. “How are people on a fixed income and our seniors going to be able to pay for a tank of gas, to pay for groceries.”
As farmers prepare for planting season Fischer says they are looking at a 200 percent increase in fertilizer costs. “If you look at all the costs that we are seeing continually rise, that is estimated to have an impact on a typical family of about $2,000 a year.”
The Labor Department on Thursday said the increase didn’t include most of the oil and gas price increases that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Since then, AAA reports average gas prices have jumped about 62 cents a gallon to $4.32 nationally.