New inflation data released last week showed that consumer prices increased 6.8 percent over the past 12 months. Some will claim that high inflation is a reason not to pass the Build Back Better Act, but actually, the opposite is true. Anyone who truly cares about the cost of living pressures families are facing should work to pass the Build Back Better Act as quickly as possible because the act is expected to do more to cut costs for families than any piece of legislation in more than a generation.
For decades, families have been dealing with rising prices alongside stagnant wages. According to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, a majority of families (those in the bottom 60 percent of the income distribution) spend a large share of their budget on essentials such as housing, health care, child care and elder care. The Build Back Better Act will help families with the high costs of these key necessities, which they have struggled with for years — not just the past few months.
The above excerpt was originally published in The Hill.
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