households across the united states. inflation caused americans to spend on average $370 more in december than a year ago. for rent, groceries, utilities and other goods and services. that s according to moody s analytics. but it says inflation does appear to be easing. and paychecks are starting to catch up as well. and another bright spot is that the typical family save money on gasoline compared to the year before. the worst days of the covid pandemic may be over, but some business owners who took out government loans to stay afloat have a new worry and that is paying them back. cnn s gabe cohen has the details. reporter: at teddy and the bully bar near downtown d.c., business post pandemic has never been the same. i m still climbing the hill. reporter: covid closed two of allen s four restaurants. government loans saved the other two. but with city centers struggling to bring back traffic, his revenue is still down more than 45% from pre-pandemic and allen
bully bar near downtown d.c., business post pandemic has never been the same. i m still climbing the hill. reporter: covid closed two of his four restaurants, government loans saved the other two. but with city center struggling to bring back traffic, his revenue is still down more than 45% from pre-pandemic and allen said they re struggling to stay open and now it is time to pay back those loans. it is very difficult. we just got over paying back the landlord. you re just a hamster spinning on a wheel. reporter: at the start of covid with business stalled, nearly 4 million small business owners took out economic injury disaster loans or idle loans from the federal government. on average about $100,000. in many cases just to stay afloat. 30 years with a fixed interest rate of 3.75%. and unlike some other pandemic programs, idle loans were expected to be paid back down
it s a very strong mayoral system. mayor bronson identifies as a republican. it s a highly divided political atmosphere there where we re told that a lot of people support him wholeheartedly, while others are calling for his resignation. thank you so much. appreciate it. turning to our money lead, the struggle is real for thousands of small businesses that now must start paying back thousands of dollars in federal government loans that they took out to survive the pandemic. as cnn s gabe cohen reports, inflation, supply chain problems and staff shortages mean that recovery is far off for many businesses facing additional loan payments. reporter: at teddy and the bully bar near downtown d.c., business post-pandemic has never been the same. i m still climbing the hill. reporter: covid closed two of his four restaurants, government loans saved the other two. but with city center struggling to bring back traffic, his revenue is still down more than
david, you re stuck my friend. i m sorry. but we re sitting here at the desk, you know, telling you what we re hearing, but you re there living it. the only form of communication is cell phone and david texted me, don, is it two, two and a half hours you said? are you on a plane or in the airport? i was watching you guys this morning, i was at a hotel in downtown d.c. and knowing this was happening, i checked flight aware because i saw the news and everything was clear, i said i m going to head to the airport. i pulled up to national. i saw no planes on the ramps, none on the runway. as soon as i got into the security line i got a notice from american saying two hour delay. i looked at the departure board, five televisions, most are red with flight cancellations or delays. probably each so 95% of the flights are canceled or delayed on the boards and people are
don t be shocked. for the obvious. do your homework and be smart about it. kennedy: lock it up. don t put stupid stuff online. finally, new study showing why states have the best which states have the best and worst drivers. exits, speeding tickets, duis. the best drivers are up the road in connecticut followed by michigan and west virginia. the worst drivers, this is kind of shocking. utah. i didn t see that one coming. california, yes. horrible drivers. iowa finishing second and third. do you concur with that list? marie: i don t know why ohio, my beloved home state is on that list. in michigan. college football playoffs. everybody route for the buckeyes. i live in the d.c. area. maryland drivers are awful. your point about civility, people are terrible drivers in part because they are mean to each other and cut people off.