by Janet Nguyen
Market Place
During the worst of the pandemic, prices started rising everywhere. Groceries, cars (both new and used), gasoline, housing. At one point, inflation reached 9.1%, the highest level since 1981, although it’s since cooled down.
When things get more expensive, some want to blame the current presidential administration. Former president Donald Trump said both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were responsible for the record levels of inflation that consumers saw in recent years.
But presidential policies did not drive the record inflation we saw during the pandemic, economists told Marketplace.
“I think that people generally over attribute control over the macroeconomy to presidents,” said Tyler Schipper, an associate professor of economics at the University of St. Thomas.