President Biden told Americans exactly one year ago Tuesday that inflation of 5.4% would be “temporary,” and he was right, in the wrong direction.
Consumer prices have kept climbing, to a rate of 9.1% in June.
The rise has been so historic that Mr. Biden and his aides lately have given up trying to predict when inflation will ease, now labeling it as “unacceptably high,” a term nobody disputes.
One Virginia restaurant has even started charging a 3.5% “inflation tax” on its menu to keep up with a wide variety of rising prices.
Now the White House is girding for data later this month that could show the U.