In this discussion of the US economy under President Trump, contributing pundit Rich Corbett pushes our Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay (who is used to being in the right column) into the left column. [Chart: Bureau of Labor Statistics] We're on a slightly relaxed schedule during traditional summer break. But you can comment any time with an email to editors@thehustings.news.
By Todd Lassa
Prices rose 0.2% on a monthly basis in July, for an annual Consumer Price Index increase of 2.7%, equal to the rate the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported for June. All items except for food and energy rose 0.3% in July, or +3.1% on an annual basis.
The food index was unchanged for the month, with food away from home 0.3% costlier and food at home 0.1% less expensive. Food costs were up 2.9% year-over-year.
For July, energy costs fell 1.1% with gas prices coming down 2.2%.
Prices were up for medical care, airline fares, recreation, household furnishings and operations and used cars and trucks. Prices for lodging away from home fell.
August, or at the latest, September CPI and jobs numbers are likely to be overseen by E.J. Antoni, the conservative Heritage Foundation economist and Project 2025 contributor Trump said on Monday he plans to nominate as BLS chief to replace Erika McEntarfer, whom the president fired after jarring July jobs numbers and May/June adjustments. Antoni “has long criticized the agency’s approach to collecting jobs data,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
Could Antoni affect official Labor Department inflation and unemployment numbers, and myriad other statistics put out by the BLS on a monthly basis, to the Trump White House’s advantage?
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee relies on CPI and jobs numbers as well as other statistics to set interest rates. The Fed’s target on lowering interest rates is a flat-2% CPI while maintaining low unemployment and good jobs growth.
But official numbers go only so far for President Trump. Yesterday, he cited Section 740 of the District of Columbia’s 1973 Home Rule Act to grab control of the federal city, take over its Metropolitan Police and plan to deploy about 800 National Guard to “take our capital back.”
Violent crime, car thefts, homelessness and uncleanliness are “out of control,” he said (per Roll Call) at a press conference in which he was flanked by Attorney Gen. Pam Bondi and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, among others.
Mayor Muriel Bowser disputed Trump’s alarmism over the crime rate, saying data show Washington, D.C.’s crime rate is lowest in 30 years and that violent crime is also at a low after a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re not experiencing a spike in crime,” Bowser said on MSNBC’s The Weekend Sunday. “In fact, we are watching our crime numbers go down.”