Beginning April 28, Amazon sellers will become the next victim of skyrocketing inflation as the online marketplace will be adding a 5% fuel and inflation surcharge for those who use their fulfillment services, CNN Business reported.
“In 2022, we expected a return to normalcy as Covid-19 restrictions around the world eased, but fuel and inflation have presented further challenges,” Amazon said in a memo, according to the outlet. “It is unclear if these inflationary costs will go up or down, or for how long they will persist.”
The Consumer Price Index marked an 8.5% annual increase in March — a rate that keeps increasing each month.
Some Amazon shoppers might not realize it yet, but that additional 5% surcharge will trickle down to them, and they will soon pay more than they already did for their goods. This is because many of the sellers are normal people who need to make an income, too. That 5% fee for the sellers who use Amazon fulfillment services will be a financial hit to them, and they may need to recoup that loss.
Democrats and the liberal media would like Americans to believe otherwise, but increased costs are partly the fault of their liberal economic policies.
The Federal Reserve keeps printing money, in part to cover the recent excessive government spending bills passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden. Remember the so-called $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” stimulus and the $1 trillion infrastructure bill? That’s coming back to bite average consumers. Excessive spending and money printing are certainly not the only causes, but they are the reasons Republicans are rightfully citing.
Related: Biden Needs to Brace Himself for a Brutal Inflation Report
As the Amazon memo conceded, it’s hard to tell if inflation will actually be transitory, as the White House keeps saying.
“Does the White House still view inflation as transitory?” Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich asked Press Secretary Jen Psaki last week, according to The Daily Caller.
“That is the view of the Federal Reserve and outside economists, and they all continue to project it will come down this year,” Psaki replied.
It’s growing harder to believe that inflation truly is only temporary, given that the White House has been saying this for such a long time.
“[White House economic experts] continue to convey that the impact will be temporary, transitory …” Psaki said in May 2021.
INFLATION: Jen Psaki says White House economic experts believe inflationary impact will be "temporary, transitory." pic.twitter.com/SbNuByIQzD
— Forbes (@Forbes) May 10, 2021
Unfortunately, Amazon is not the only company tacking on explicit surcharges to combat rising prices.
Rideshare services Uber and Lyft both announced a $0.45 to $0.55 fuel fee for each ride, according to TechCrunch. Riders have already been dealing with higher-priced rides, and this only makes getting around even more expensive.
“Recent gas price increases are making all types of transportation more expensive. And this has a direct effect on drivers. So, starting next week, Lyft is adding a $0.55 fuel surcharge to each ride that’ll go directly from riders to drivers — 100% of it,” Lyft said on their website. “This will help offset fuel costs, which also helps more drivers stay on the road. Drivers can expect these additional earnings for at least the next 60 days.”
The brutal reality of rapid inflation is that it’s barely noticeable to some Americans, while others are struggling to put food on the table. If an individual or family was already forced to penny-pinch, these price upticks across the board could be devastating.
