America got more expensive in 2021. Who is really paying the price? – a visual explainer

Uneven inflation has hurt poor households and redistributed wealth to the rich

Americans have paid higher prices for everything from utilities to groceries in 2021. But as the specter of inflation haunts the US economy for the first time in decades, it has been the poorer members of society who have suffered the most, a phenomenon economists are calling inflation inequality".

The US inflation rate rose to 6.8% since last November, according to labor department data, the highest annual increase in nearly 40 years. Those price increases have been largely driven by essential goods and services: transportation, energy, housing and food.

Motor fuel cost went up by an astounding 58% from a year ago.

Transportation (+16.5%) and utility costs (+33%) increased dramatically in the past year.

The cost of food overall went up by 6.1%, driven by the rising price of meats, poultry and fish (+13.1%).