With More Bad Inflation News, Worst Thing Washington Could Do Is More Spending, Tax Hikes

I released the following statement after the January Producer Price Index (PPI) showed wholesale prices increasing twice the rate projected:

"This is more bad news on the inflation front. Wholesale prices increased at twice the rate projected, surely stoking inflation higher and longer. More than 60 percent of Main Street businesses are reporting they have been forced to raise their prices to keep up.

"The worst thing Washington could do now is fuel inflation with more spending or impose tax hikes on employers that ultimately show up in higher prices for customers and higher taxes on their workers."

Details: Expectations for PPI over the last 12 months were around 9.1 percent when PPI grew at 9.7 percent. This is 0.1 percentage points off from January's pandemic high. Core PPI hit 0.9 percent, the highest since January 2021.