Fox Cities News

The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) rise in inflation for the month of March has been announced as 8.5%, the largest year-over-year increase since 1981. The Biden administration has continued to place blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's war with Ukraine for the price hikes across America today. However, minimal research shows inflation has been on the rise since Biden entered office in January 2021.

The Biden administration has been touting the war in Ukraine as a reason for increasing gasoline prices and inflation, with the administration even using the phrase #PutinPriceHike on Twitter, according to Fox News, which also noted the administration has stated gasoline price increases haven’t been tied to any policies by the administration. According to information from the FRED Economic Data website, from the point when President Joe Biden took office the week of Jan. 18, 2021, until Feb. 14, American gasoline prices increased by 32.8%, which Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) claims is proof the price increase isn’t the result of the war in Ukraine. 

"On the day that President Biden took office, the average gallon of gas was $2.38,” she said in a post on Twitter. “At the time of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the average price was $3.53. This isn’t Putin’s price hike — it’s because of Joe Biden."

Also supporting Blackburn’s assertion, the FRED Economic Data website notes that gasoline prices increased 13.6% from the start of the war in Ukraine the week of Feb. 21 to the week of April 11. 

Earlier this month, the BLS released its Consumer Price Index for the 12 months ending in March, signaling an 8.5% increase for all items, which is the largest increase in more than four decades, since 1981. The BLS also noted that the gasoline index jumped 18.3% in March, accounting for more than half of the monthly increase in all items. 

Motorists in Wisconsin have felt the pinch at the pumps, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), which noted the price of a gallon of gasoline recently hit $3.75 a gallon, while drivers were paying $2.72 per gallon just a year ago.