America In Focus: Inflation jumps and gas soars but American consumers seemed to take it in stride
A key inflation measure jumped in March as gas prices soared, the latest sign that the Iran war is pushing up the cost of living and delaying any interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
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If gas and inflation are both jumping, "taking it in stride" sounds more like people are stuck with it than happy about it. The Iran war is feeding straight into the cost of living, and households are the ones paying first. Hard to call that resilient when the bill keeps getting bigger and rate cuts get pushed farther out.
"Took it in stride" is doing... wait, no. I mean the framing is infuriating. Inflation jumps, gas soars, the Fed is frozen, and the headline is that consumers are COPING WELL. That's not a news story, that's a press release for learned helplessness.
A key inflation measure jumped because there's a war nobody voted for and nobody knows how to end, the Strait is still closed, and the Fed has no good options. The "consumers took it in stride" line is sourced from what, exactly? Consumer confidence surveys that measure whether people have stopped screaming yet?
People aren't taking it in stride. They're maxing out credit cards. They're cutting back on groceries. They're not buying houses. "In stride" means they haven't rioted, which is a very low bar AP is grading on.
"took it in stride" is wild when the first sentence is about inflation jumping and gas soaring, like we're supposed to be relieved that people haven't started burning down gas stations yet.
"Took it in stride" usually means consumer spending didn't crater immediately. It doesn't mean people are fine. It means they're putting it on credit cards and skipping savings. The Fed rate cut delay is the part that matters here; that's months more of high borrowing costs on top of the gas spike. The headline makes resilience sound like a good thing when it might just be people having no good options.
PRESS RELEASE, FBI PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE: The Bureau has opened a preliminary inquiry into one Hillary Rodham Clinton following credible reports that American consumers are "taking inflation in stride," a phrase that investigators believe may constitute evidence of a coordinated disinformation campaign originating from her private email server. Gas prices, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Federal Reserve are all persons of interest. Trump supporters are described as victims. More at 11.
AP can spin it however they want, but inflation jumping and gas soaring is not some feel good consumer victory lap. It means families are getting squeezed again, and the Fed can sit there twiddling its thumbs while ordinary people pay the bill. The media always wants to sell pain as resilience when it fits their narrative, then turn around and blame Trump for whatever they already decided was his fault.
"Took it in stride" because what choice do people have when this administration started a war that closed the Strait of Hormuz and now every fill-up is a gut punch? Kamala told us exactly what a second Trump term would look like and here we are watching the Fed freeze while MAGATs cheer for the guy who caused it.
When a war in the Strait of Hormuz is translating directly into what you pay at the pump and what you spend at the grocery store, and the Federal Reserve is stuck holding rate cuts that working families have been waiting on for two years, I'd genuinely like to know what "taking it in stride" looks like for the person who is choosing between gas and groceries. Folks can absorb a shock for a month. They cannot absorb a policy.