<\/p>\n
Inflation continues to rise across the U.S., and now, with the ongoing government shutdown, that financial pressure is being felt even more deeply by Bakersfield families and local economists.<\/p>\n
According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices across the economy \u2014 including groceries, housing, gas, furniture, and electricity \u2014 have increased about 3% over the past year. That means a grocery trip that cost $100 in September 2024 now costs around $103 in September 2025.<\/p>\n
For many families, even a small rise in prices can make a big difference.<\/p>\n
Struggling to Keep Up<\/p>\n
Jose Maldonado, a Bakersfield resident and father of four, was diagnosed with kidney failure last year and is now on dialysis. Since going on disability, he says it\u2019s been increasingly difficult to make ends meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m off of work on disability, and with the disability they cut my food stamps \u2014 they said I make too much,\u201d Maldonado explained. \u201cSo now that I\u2019m paying out of pocket for groceries, it makes it a little harder with the living situation, paying your bills, and being able to support your family.\u201dFor Maldonado, the loss of food assistance has also made it harder to maintain the specialized diet his health condition requires.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to eat different and cut a lot of things out of my diet,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd a lot of the foods I can eat \u2014 the ones that keep me stable \u2014 are more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shutdown Stalls Economic Data<\/p>\n
While local families are feeling the impact of inflation directly, economists are facing a different kind of challenge.<\/p>\n
Dr. Richard Gearhart, an economics professor at California State University, Bakersfield, says the federal government shutdown has frozen access to key economic data \u2014 information that businesses, policymakers, and researchers depend on.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s difficult because economists have been used to getting real-time data from the U.S. government for the past 50 years,\u201d Gearhart said. \u201cIt\u2019s the largest data repository in the world \u2014 with over 800,000 different data sets spanning decades.\u201dWithout that information, Gearhart explains, experts can\u2019t run the economic impact analyses that guide decisions about investments, wages, or job growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t run economic impact analyses \u2014 which are what businesses or governments use when they want to plan investments or estimate how something will affect jobs, wages, or GDP,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just can\u2019t get into the data right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking Ahead<\/p>\n
With inflation still climbing and key economic data out of reach, experts warn that it could take months for the economy to recover from the shutdown\u2019s ripple effects.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, they advise consumers to save where possible, limit unnecessary expenses, and stay informed about changing prices and policies.<\/p>\n
As families like the Maldonados continue to navigate financial uncertainty, one thing is clear \u2014 the intersection of inflation and federal inaction is hitting home in Bakersfield and beyond.<\/p>\n
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inflation continues to rise across the U.S., and now, with the ongoing government shutdown, that financial pressure is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152,26,14242,23,25,23091],"class_list":["post-31709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-kero-23-bakersfield","tag-local-news","tag-newsbreak","tag-rising-inflation-and-government-shutdown-puts-bakersfield-families-under-strain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}