The White House published a pun-filled video on Twitter Thursday celebrating American’s apparent financial savings on their 4th of July cookouts compared to last year by a whopping 16 cents.
“Planning a cookout this year? Ketchup on the news,” the post reads. “According to the Farm Bureau, the cost of July BBQ is down from last year. It’s a fact you must-hear(d). Hot dog, the Biden economic plan is working. And that’s something we can all relish.”
Except the Biden plan isn’t.
Planning a cookout this year? Ketchup on the news. According to the Farm Bureau, the cost of a 4th of July BBQ is down from last year. It’s a fact you must-hear(d). Hot dog, the Biden economic plan is working. And that’s something we can all relish. pic.twitter.com/7h9qLauIbC
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 1, 2021
The post scrolls through prices of typical tailgate items — baked beans, ground beef, ice cream — and shows each, according to the Farm Bureau, down by a small percent last year with an average savings of 16 cents. That may be true for select products in the snapshot of time the White House is referencing, a single weekend this year compared to last year when supply chains were volatile in the throes of the pandemic, but Americans feel the pain elsewhere.
Despite the White House’s best effort to cover its inflationary crisis with the celebration of 16 cents of savings, gas prices this weekend have soared to a seven-year high back to when Joe Biden was vice president. In that respect, Biden has brought the return to normal promised, where the more than 40 million Americans preparing to hit the road will pay an average of $3.09 a gallon.
This time last year, the national average gas prices were at $2.17 a gallon, according to AAA. On the same weekend the year preceding the pandemic, they were $2.75 a gallon.
But the Biden White House is ecstatic Americans will save 16 cents on typical BBQ items. Enjoy the breadcrumbs, bigots. Don’t enjoy the fireworks at Mount Rushmore either. Those are canceled.
Americans, who are facing higher prices on everything under the new administration dishing out “stimulus” checks, are also feeling inflationary pain elsewhere in the grocery store and beyond. Overall consumer prices rose 5 percent in May as inflation hits a 13-year high. Restaurants and supermarkets are charging higher prices, with grocery prices remaining higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to the Federal Reserve.
Prices for raw materials like lumber and materials needed to make cars have doubled since April last year, while the housing market has run so hot it’s rendered homes unaffordable for lower- and middle-class Americans.
In March, Biden gave a primetime address on the one-year anniversary of the lockdowns, where American liberties stripped at breakneck speed under the guise of public health were met with apathy and even enthusiasm from those among the statist left. In stark contrast from President Donald Trump, who demanded a free and open country, Biden issued a screed of threats and ultimatums, threatening Americans heed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci or remain in lockdown. If they listened, Biden said, Americans might enjoy small outdoor gatherings by their 4th of July Independence Day holiday.
“We need everyone to get vaccinated. We need everyone to keep washing their hands. We need everyone to keep wearing the mask,” Biden said, but “that doesn’t mean large events.”
Three months later, it’s clear the nation has moved on despite his threats, but must still endure a weak post-pandemic recovery. But at least Americans will save 16 cents.
