Inflation hit yet another 40-year high in February, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics determining a 7.9% increase in the consumer price index over the past year. However, buried in that figure is the unsavory fact that although inflation is, and in recent months has been, usually somewhat regressive anyway, the burden of recent price spikes has continued to fall on the working class disproportionately.

Although the CPI is a useful figure due to its historical precision, it’s more accurate for comparing price increases between time frames than for determining just how much of a toll inflation is taking on a population at a specific time. The overwhelming majority of the CPI increase continues to be due to food and energy, factors that comprise a much greater share of the budget of lower-income households than wealthier ones.