Tuesday, November 5

Why is inflation higher in the US than in other developed countries?

Julio Guzmán

The rise in prices derived from inflation continues to wreak havoc in the country. According to the most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation reached 8.3% year-on-year in April, a slight drop from the 8.5% reported in March.

The problems with global supply chains, the recovery from the Covid-pandemic-19, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have influenced the rise in prices worldwide. However, inflation in the United States has exceeded that of other developed countries.

Experts from the Federal Reserve of the Bank of San Francisco agree that fiscal support measures designed to deal with the economic effect of the pandemic , such as the Aid Law , Coronavirus Relief and Economic Security (CARES), enacted in March 2020, may have been key to inflation rise about 3% by the end of 2022.

The report highlights that this type of aid in the country triggered inflation compared to other countries

. However, were it not for these spending measures, the economy would have been tipped towards outright deflation and slower economic growth, “the consequences of which would have been more difficult to manage.”

The current inflation has had a stronger impact on certain sectors of society; has forced many parents to tighten their belts and take drastic measures, such as not eating and running up debts.

Recent Oxfam research says that many single parents have had to resort to fasting, skipping meals and resorting to unhealthy foods so that their children have something to eat. In the event of an unforeseen expense, it could become a difficult debt to pay in the short term.

The report mentions that among single parents who work in the country, 57% earn less than $15 dollars per hour, this equates to about 11.2 million employees. This group also belongs to almost a third of the workers who earn this salary, which represents about 52 million people in the country.

The report says that this type of family has little or no financial room for maneuver and the rise of prices in the country has come to tighten the noose around the neck even more.

In the most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation increased by 0.3% per month in the United States. Despite the slight increase, compared to the jump of 1.2% recorded in March, year-on-year inflation continues to hold at record levels, standing at 8.3% , slightly below the 8.5% recorded in the same period.

Last March, Nearly 30% of single parents said their finances were worse than average, according to a survey of MorningGroup.

In addition to this, the situation is complicated by the increase in interest rates of 0.5% by the Federal Reserve announced last week. When rates rise, it becomes more expensive to borrow from the bank, buy a car, a house, start a business or pay with a card. If a single parent finds themselves in this situation, the outlook could be bleak given the divided opinions of a recession.

You may be interested in:

-10 US areas where inflation increased the most last year, as of April 2022
-Fed takes drastic measures against inflation: now it will be more expensive to ask borrowed for a car, a house or to buy with a credit card
-5 places in the US where the cost of living is still low despite inflation