Biden’s inflation crunch: Too much shopping — even at beach

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden could have looked out the window of his limousine on his drive last weekend to his beach home and seen firsthand why he’s struggled to contain inflation. Lining Delaware’s Coastal Highway as it leads into Rehoboth Beach are miles of strip malls, outlet stores, restaurants, hotels and gas stations. The advertised price of gasoline was approaching $5 a gallon. Vacationgoers had packed into the parking lots of pubs and taquerias. No one’s happy inflation is close to a 40-year high, but it’ll be hard to bring down prices so long as people keep eagerly spending. Biden needs consumers to pull back just enough so inflation eases, but not so much the economy risks plunging into a recession.