The Poynter Institute Menu Donate State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin Issues * All Issues * Online hoaxes * Coronavirus * Health Care * Immigration * Extremism * Taxes * Marijuana * Environment * Crime * Guns * Foreign Policy * LGBTQ+ People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis Media * PunditFact * Tucker Carlson * Sean Hannity * Rachel Maddow * Bloggers * PolitiFact Videos Campaigns * 2024 Elections Truth-o-Meter * True * Mostly True * Half True * Mostly False * False * Pants on Fire Promises * Biden Promise Tracker * Trump-O-Meter * Obameter * Latest Promises About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Suggest a Fact-check * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters Donate #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up English Español ### Stand up for the facts! Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Marco Rubio stated on April 11, 2024 in an interview with Fox News: “It\'s very misleading when (President Biden) says (inflation) used to be at 9%. This is compounding. It’s not like it went down from 9% to 3%. This is building month after month. The better way to think about it is that it’s 18%, 19% over the last three years.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" half-true/6479cbc723379f0ee49c269b0b9790b7.jpg.\\") ![\\"half- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * Economy * Florida * Marco Rubio ![\\"Sen.](\\" Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks with reporters as he walks to a vote on Capitol Hill on Sept. 6, 2023. (AP) ![\\"Louis](\\" By Louis Jacobson April 17, 2024 # Marco Rubio says Joe Biden is being ‘very misleading’ about inflation. Arguably, Rubio is, too. #### If Your Time is short * Inflation compounds and it has risen by about 19% over the last three years. * In summer 2022, inflation peaked at about a 9% increase compared with one year earlier. But since June 2023, year-over-year inflation has run between 3% and 3.7%. * Compared with February 2020, the month before the pandemic began, and also compared with one year ago, wages have increased faster than prices. See the sources for this fact-check With Americans telling pollsters that they’re weary of inflation, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., accused President Joe Biden of misleading voters about how much rising prices have eased. \"It\'s very misleading when (Biden) says (inflation) used to be at 9%,\" Rubio told Fox News’ Harris Faulkner April 11. \"This is compounding. It’s not like it went down from 9% to 3%. This is building month after month. The better way to think about it is that it’s 18%, 19% over the last three years.\" Inflation has improved significantly on Biden’s watch. In summer 2022, inflation peaked at about 9% compared with one year earlier. But since June 2023, year-over-year inflation has run between 3% and 3.7%. That’s a marked improvement, even though it’s not quite down to the 2% level the Federal Reserve Board wants to see before it lowers interest rates. Rubio has a point that inflation accumulates, and that the increase over the past three years has been around 19%. However, Rubio is misleading by failing to note another key factor: rising wages. Prices don’t increase in a vacuum; they can be canceled out, or nearly so, by rising wages. \"Measuring changes in well-being requires bringing in wages — the capacity to pay these higher prices,\" said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the center- right American Action Forum. Although it may not be obvious to consumers frustrated with rising grocery prices, wages are outpacing inflation when compared with the prepandemic level. Rubio’s office did not answer an inquiry for this fact-check. What the data shows We looked at how two standard federal statistics have evolved in recent years: The consumer price index, a monthly price inflation gauge for a fixed basket of goods, and average hourly earnings for all private employees, a monthly measurement of how worker pay changes. Although Rubio’s has accurately assessed inflation’s compounding, these measurements are highly sensitive to different time frames. So, it’s easy for politicians to cherry-pick time periods that suit their arguments. \"Sen. Rubio can define inflation over any time span he wishes,\" said Gary Burtless, an economist with the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., think tank. \"But what\'s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. President Biden is also free … to measure inflation over any time span he wishes.\" #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Americans for Prosperity Action stated on September 4, 2024 in a Meta ad The Inflation Reduction Act, which Rep. Elissa Slotkin supported, “drove inflation higher.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 26, 2024 Wages have risen 15.9% since January 2021, Biden’s first month in office. That increase in wages has eased the inflationary hit to consumers. But compounding inflation means overall prices have outpaced this increase. Biden, however, fares better when using two other credible time frames. One is to compare today with February 2020, the last full month before the coronavirus pandemic hit. The pandemic represented such an economic upheaval that February 2020 is a plausible benchmark for a \"normal\" economy. Using the prepandemic comparison, inflation is up by 20.4% since February 2020, but wages are up by 21.5%. So, over this period, worker pay has absorbed all the price increases and then some. Another comparison focuses on the most recent data and should better predict future trend lines. From March 2023 to March 2024, inflation rose by 3.5%, but wages increased 4.1%. Again, over this period, workers’ wage gains outpaced rising prices. Dean Baker, an economist with the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research, added that Biden isn’t using an obscure or twisted statistic to make his point on inflation. \"Biden is talking about inflation the way we always talk about inflation, as an annual rate,\" Baker said. \"He\'s not pulling a fast one here. That is absolutely the standard way to discuss inflation.\" Our ruling Rubio said, \"It\'s very misleading when (Biden) says (inflation) used to be at 9%. This is compounding. It’s not like it went down from 9% to 3%. This is building month after month. The better way to think about it is that it’s 18%, 19% over the last three years.\" Inflation compounds, and it has risen by about 19% during Biden’s presidency. However, it’s not \"very misleading\" for Biden to say inflation has eased, given that wage gains have cushioned the blow of higher prices. Since February 2020, and also over the last year, wages have increased faster than prices. The statement is partially accurate but omits important details, so we rate it Half True. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Marco Rubio, Fox News interview, April 11, 2024 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average, accessed April 16, 2024 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private, accessed April 16, 2024 Email interview with Gary Burtless, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, April 16, 2024 Email interview with Dean Baker, economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research, April 16, 2024 Email interview with Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, April 16, 2024 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Louis Jacobson ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on September 27, 2024 in an ad: U.S. Sen. Jon Tester “voted to give taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 30, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on September 25, 2024 in an interview with MSNBC: “Even before the pandemic, (Donald Trump) lost manufacturing jobs, by most people’s estimates at least 200,000.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 26, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on September 10, 2024 in an op-ed: Jon Tester “supported slashing Social Security benefits” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 25, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on September 21, 2024 in in Bethlehem, Pa.: “Donald Trump added more to the national debt than any other president, ever.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 25, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Senate Leadership Fund stated on September 17, 2024 in a TV ad: “Two years ago, Bob Casey promised us his vote will reduce inflation. ... Casey’s vote for reckless spending” made inflation worse. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 25, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on September 21, 2024 in an event in Bethlehem, Pa.: “The last union member on a national ticket (was) Ronald Reagan.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 24, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on September 12, 2024 in a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina: Former President Donald Trump “started out with $400 million on a silver platter and then filed for bankruptcy six times.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 20, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jon Tester stated on September 6, 2024 in a Facebook ad: “Tim Sheehy told us his health care plan: ‘We need to return health care to pure privatization.’ That would eliminate Medicare.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 20, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 13, 2024 in a rally in Las Vegas: Vice President Kamala Harris is “talking about bringing back the draft.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 18, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on August 21, 2024 in an X post: The “‘Inflation Reduction Act’ increased inflation and drove prices sky high!” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 17, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jon Tester stated on September 8, 2024 in a Facebook ad: Tim Sheehy “would let politicians like him ban abortion, with no exceptions for rape or to save a woman’s life, and criminalize women.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 12, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 7, 2024 in a rally in Mosinee, Wis.: Vice President Kamala Harris “cast the tiebreaking votes that caused the worst inflation in American history, costing a typical American family $28,000.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 8, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on August 22, 2024 in su discurso de aceptación en la Convención Nacional Demócrata: El expresidente Donald Trump “tiene la intención de promulgar lo que, en efecto, es un impuesto nacional sobre las ventas…que elevaría los precios para las familias de clase media a casi $4,000 al año”. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Marta Campabadal Graus • September 5, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 23, 2024 in a campaign event in Glendale, Ariz.: “There’s been a 43% increase in violent crimes since I left office.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on August 22, 2024 in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention: Former President Donald Trump \"intends to enact what, in effect, is a national sales tax ... that would raise prices on middle-class families by almost $4,000 a year.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • August 30, 2024 ### Marco Rubio says Joe Biden is being ‘very misleading’ about inflation. Arguably, Rubio is, too. * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 30, 2024 in a Meta ad: U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers “believes he should make that decision” about whether to end pregnancies. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on September 27, 2024 in an ad: U.S. Sen. Jon Tester “voted to give taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 26, 2024 in an Instagram post: “Kamala involved in P-Diddy’s rapes and assaults.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on September 10, 2024 in the ABC News presidential debate: “Donald Trump said he was going to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. He never did. We did.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Jacob Gardenswartz • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 28, 2024 in an X post: Video shows “the bunker-busting bombs that ended the lives of (Hassan) Nasrallah and Hezbollah’s leadership.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 29, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 27, 2024 in a video: Shows video of damage from Hurricane Helene. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 28, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on September 22, 2024 in una publicación enTikTok: En el sur de Filadelfia, la campaña de Kamala Harris “está pagando a la gente $700 por semana para viajar y asistir a todos sus eventos”. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 25, 2024 in an Instagram post: Hurricane Helene was the product of intentional weather modification. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 25, 2024 in a post: Video shows footage of Hurricane Helene ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Grace Abels • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Vote No on 3 stated on September 7, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s Amendment 3 is “the monopoly amendment.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • September 27, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. Sign me up #### Offices District of Columbia 1800 I Street NW Washington, DC 20006 Florida 801 3rd St. S St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-821-9494 #### People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis #### State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin #### About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters #### RSS Feeds * Recent Articles and Fact-checks * Recent Fact-checks Suggest a Fact-check #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Copyright ©All Rights Reserved Poynter Institute 2020, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ![\\"\\"](\\" ✕ * * *
It is very misleading when President Biden says inflation used to be at 9 This is compounding It’s not like it went down from 9 to 3 This is building month after month The better way to think about it is that it’s 18 19 over the last three years