{"id":2209546,"date":"2024-03-30T07:12:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-30T11:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-hit-biden-for-inflated-cost-of-easter-holiday\/"},"modified":"2024-03-30T07:12:43","modified_gmt":"2024-03-30T11:12:43","slug":"republicans-hit-biden-for-inflated-cost-of-easter-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-hit-biden-for-inflated-cost-of-easter-holiday\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans criticize Biden for exaggerated Easter holiday expenses"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublicans-hit-biden-for-inflated-cost-of-easter-holiday%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2209546&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Republicans are drawing\u200c attention to\u2064 the impact of inflation on Easter\u200c expenses under President Joe Biden&#8217;s\u200b administration.\u200d Inflation \u2062surged after his inauguration in January 2021, with prices rising by about 9%. Despite a\u2064 slight decline, inflation\u200b remains a concern. Republicans\u200b highlight the significant increase in the costs of Easter-related items, such as \u200beggs and\u2063 chocolate. \u200dRepublicans are shedding light\u2062 on the \u200beffects of inflation\u2062 on Easter\u2062 spending during\u2063 President Joe Biden&#8217;s term. Following Biden&#8217;s inauguration in January 2021,\u200d inflation spiked, causing prices to\u2063 soar by roughly 9%. Despite a slight decrease, inflation continues\u200d to be \u200da \u2063worrisome \u200dissue. Republicans are emphasizing \u2064the notable\u200c surge in the prices of Easter staples like eggs \u2063and chocolate.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Ahead of Easter, Republicans are highlighting how much <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/inflation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>inflation<\/a> has driven up the cost of the holiday since President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> entered office.<\/p>\n<p>Inflation began to spiral upward shortly after Biden entered the White House in January 2021, with annual price growth peaking at about 9%. While price growth has fallen, inflation is still running too hot, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republicans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Republicans<\/a> are seizing on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/easter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Easter<\/a> holiday to highlight just how much more festivities cost now than before Biden\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, the Easter Bunny will spend significantly more on dinner, treats, and easter baskets this year,\u201d Republicans on the House Budget Committee said in a Friday news release. \u201cAmericans are looking forward to a family dinner, an Easter Egg hunt, or a bouquet of flowers this weekend but feel the strain on their wallets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis Easter, prices are at an all-time high,\u201d the committee added.<\/p>\n<p>Headline inflation is a metric that factors in price changes for all of goods and services. Inflation has totaled 3.2% over the past year, according to the latest consumer price index data.<\/p>\n<p>But the costs of individual foods associated with Easter have risen much more.<\/p>\n<p>Eggs, closely associated with Easter, are once again rising in price. Egg prices hit record highs near the end of 2022 when a terrible wave of avian influenza took hold, killing off millions of laying hens and dramatically crimping supply. Prices then crashed as supply caught back up. But since last September, egg prices have been creeping back up.<\/p>\n<p>In just the past month alone, the price of eggs is up 8.4%, far outpacing overall inflation. Still, egg prices are down 17% since this time last year.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans, though, have framed the egg price increases in terms of how much they have risen since Biden entered office.<\/p>\n<p>In a Friday morning press release, super PAC Make America Great Again Inc., which supports former President Donald Trump\u2019s effort to defeat Biden in November, highlighted the increase in the cost of several food items associated with Easter since January 2021.<\/p>\n<p>The price of eggs is up 49%; biscuits, rolls, and muffins are up 26%; ham is up 17%; and beef for roasting is up nearly 30%, the group said, citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n<p>While there are various factors at play for inflation, at least with eggs, the biggest determinant by far is avian influenza, American Farm Bureau Federation economist Bernt Nelson explained to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> during a Friday interview.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, avian influenza is still not too bad, although there have been some notable outbreaks in recent months driving up prices a bit. Yet egg farmers worry about what\u2019s in the pipeline for layers, which are the birds that lay the eggs that shoppers buy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, layers in the United States down about 1% \u2014 so the ability to produce these eggs is just a little bit reduced,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd as we go into the spring migration \u2026 where we see a higher likelihood of the spread of avian influenza, there are concerns regarding this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The good news is that so far there hasn\u2019t been a massive spring uptick. Bernt said that if things stay quiet, prices could stay stable or maybe even come down some as summer approaches.<\/p>\n<p>Another staple for Easter is chocolates, which are made from cocoa. Cocoa prices <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance-and-economy\/2940033\/spike-cocoa-prices-drive-up-cost-chocolate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>are surging to record levels<\/a> as production in Africa plummets.<\/p>\n<p>The Ivory Coast and Ghana account for over 65% of world cocoa production, but production in the region has been threatened. Atop the list of problems are an aging stock of cocoa trees and the spread of a disease known as swollen shoot virus.<\/p>\n<p>Global cocoa prices have ballooned 245% since this time last year and are up an astonishing 128% since just the start of 2024.<\/p>\n<p>While Easter prices might see a bit of a bump in chocolate prices this Easter season, major companies, such as Hershey, Nestle, and Mars, have successfully hedged the risk of higher cocoa prices. So the big price increases will take longer to filter through to consumers.<\/p>\n<p>Biden has faced a torrent of criticism from Republicans about his handling of the economy, specifically inflation. The White House has been working to convince voters that his economic vision is sound, but inflation has been a major concern for families.<\/p>\n<p>There have been some signs that perceptions of the economy and inflation are shifting a bit, though.<\/p>\n<p>In a positive sign for Biden, consumer sentiment rose in March to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance-and-economy\/2942947\/consumer-sentiment-jumps-to-highest-level-since-2021-before-inflation-plague\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the highest level<\/a> in more than two years and expectations for inflation fell.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 79.4 in March, up from a preliminary reading of 76.5. That is a 28.1% change from this time last year. Sentiment is now at the highest level since July 2021, before the U.S. began grappling with its explosive bout of inflation.<\/p>\n<p>While Biden\u2019s polling on the economy still is quite bad, it has seen some slight improvements. A recent CNBC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2024\/03\/26\/biden-pulls-even-with-trump-as-economic-view-improves-slightly-cnbc-survey-shows.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">survey<\/a> found that Biden\u2019s economic approval numbers are only at 37%, which is up from 33% in December.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Easter approaches, Republicans are pointing out the increased costs associated with the holiday during President Biden&#8217;s tenure. Inflation surged after Biden took office in January 2021, with annual price growth reaching approximately 9%. Despite a slight decrease, inflation remains a concern<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2683,"featured_media":2209547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP23100535036920-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2209546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP23100535036920-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2209546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2683"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2209546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2209546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2209547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2209546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2209546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2209546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}