- Stubbornly high inflation has created severe financial pressures for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more for everyday necessities like food and rent.
- The burden is disproportionately borne by low-income Americans, whose already-stretched paychecks are heavily impacted by price fluctuations.
- The Labor Department reported last month that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price for everyday goods including gasoline, groceries, and rents, fell 0.1 percent in December but climbed 6.5 percent on an annual basis.
