Axios has a scoop on the new inflation number that’s scheduled to drop tomorrow and it’s bad.

They’re citing analysts from FactSet that expect the new number to be 8.4 percent, the highest inflation rate since December 1981. That’s up from the rate from last month, which was 7.9 percent.

Some of that will be reflecting the high gas prices that have since moderated somewhat. However, even without counting gas and food, the forecast is 6.6 percent, the highest since August 1982.

So while the Biden team ordered the release of a million barrels of oil a day for 180 days from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and it might have a tiny effect on the prices, he hasn’t done anything to change the general trajectory of inflation — the cause for the rise to begin with. He’s just basically emptying our reserve which is supposed to be for emergencies — not to avoid doing the right thing for the country to save himself politically before the midterms. But it’s not changing the problem ultimately.

Still, services excluding energy products account for 57% of CPI, versus only 13% for durable goods. so it wouldn’t take much for the services sector to supplant goods, preventing overall inflation from coming down.

Case in point: Rent price increases have accelerated in each of the last three months, and were up 0.6% in February. That reflects constrained housing supply and rising incomes — and so long as it persists will keep inflation from coming down meaningfully.

Prices are also rising for services as varied as health insurance and hotel stays. The fading of the pandemic may mean consumers shift their spending toward services, bidding up their price amid finite supply.

Moreover, companies that sell services are looking to make up for rising wage costs and enjoy the pricing power that comes with robust demand.

The bottom line: The high overall inflation number will get most of the headlines Tuesday morning, but the more important question for the outlook is whether services inflation keeps accelerating even as durable goods inflation fades.

Even MSNBC got that this was a big problem for Democrats for the midterms — it isn’t about messaging when it’s hitting people right in the pocket — it’s about bad policies, and people know it. MSNBC commentator Lauren Leader lays out the problem. Watch the panic here among the leftists at MSNBC and the nervous laughter — sometimes it’s a “problem problem.”

MSNBC panel calls Democrats’ midterms chances “a problem problem.”

“All of this happened while the Democrats were in power. You told us to put you in power, we put you in power, and now I can’t afford the life I’m living.” pic.twitter.com/jCIUZ3haIx

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 11, 2022

“All of this happened while the Democrats were in power. You told us to put you in power, we put you in power, and now I can’t afford the life I’m living,” Al Sharpton said. This may be one of those rare occasions I agree with Sharpton. It’s all on the Democrats now and unless they change their policies that have made things worse, count on them being handed their heads in November.

Notice also how now it’s a problem when it’s been a problem for Americans since last year. They’re just acknowledging it’s a “problem problem” now because they see it’s going to hit them in the midterms hard. It’s not because they give a darn about how much it’s been hurting Americans all this time.