Producers are struggling in Joe Biden’s cruel economy this Christmas. As the majority of wholesale Christmas tree growers raise prices, families across the country could now spend up to 15% more for Christmas trees this year. Heading into the holiday season, staggering energy costs caused the Producer Price Index to rise for the second month in a row, leaving our hardworking farmers, ranchers, and foresters paying 8% more since last year for input costs across the board.

BIDEN’S ECONOMIC CRISIS BY THE NUMBERS:
  • The Producer Price Index rose 0.2% from September to October, leaving producer input costs UP 8%year-over-year.
  • As for the prices paid by consumers, the Consumer Price Index rose at an annual rate of 7.7% in October, up 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the SAME increase as in September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Real wages have decreased under Biden 10 out of the 12 months in the last year.
    • Real average hourly earnings decreased 2.8%, seasonally adjusted, from October 2021 to October 2022.
    • Real wages have fallen every month since Joe Biden and Democrats passed their wasteful $1.9 trillion “stimulus.”
  • The skyrocketing cost of goods and services will cost the average American household over $700 a month, which adds up to over $8,000 a year.
  • According to a recent survey, about half of Americans will cut back on holiday shopping this year due to rising costs as shoppers will spend up to 8% more on the same goods as this year on holiday shopping across the board compared to last Christmas.
    • Over 70% of Christmas tree growers plan to raise prices this year up to 15% to afford rising production costs.

BIDEN’S ENERGY CRISIS BY THE NUMBERS:

  • The national average for a gallon of gas is $3.38 as of Tuesday—over a dollar more than when Biden took office.
    • On the day that President Biden was sworn into office, the average price for a gallon of gas nationwide was $2.39.
  • According to the Energy Information Administration, households are expected to pay an average of $1,359 this winter for energy—the highest in 25 years.
  • Over a third of American households say they have forgoed basic expenses to afford an energy bill in the last 12 months, according to a recent LendingTree survey.
  • Diesel prices are approximately 50% higher than they were this time last year, at $5.05 a gallon.
  • Prices for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers – the three most commonly used commercial fertilizers – more than doubledbetween 2020 and 2021, and it peaked in April 2022.
    • Nitrogen fertilizer, which accounts for more than 50% of the commercial fertilizer used by farmers, is expected to see price increases in 2022 of more than 80% from the previous year.
    • Natural gas, which rose steadily in price during 2021, is a key ingredient for the production of fertilizers.
      • Rising gas prices affect everything from increasing planting costs to increasing transportation costs.

MAKE NO MISTAKE: America’s hardworking producers are being forced to pay for Joe Biden’s reckless spending and anti-energy agenda. Now, families are too—and it’s ruining holiday cheer this Christmas.