They already paid for the stuff from "Party City"

The White House planned a celebration today for the Inflation Reduction Act and then, sometime between the announcement and the actual event, the Labor Department announced inflation had risen more than expected: "Inflation rose faster than expected in August, keeping prices painfully high - Consumer price index unexpectedly climbed 8.3% in August, despite a decline in gas prices."

Should they cancel the big party?  Well, they already hired the clowns and inflated the balloons so the show must go on:

Nevertheless, given today’s inflation data, it’s perhaps a little unfortunate that the administration will be celebrating the Act later today in Washington, D.C. 

So unfortunate that it would take a heart of stone not to laugh, however bitterly.

How bad was it?  Every minute Joe Biden tried to convince the crowd that everything was peachy the stock market kept dropping until it shed over 1200 points.  Eventually, CNN had to cut away from the happy talk because the split-screen was showing the Dow average slide.

Extra - Red State: "Joe Biden Holds Surreal 'Celebration' as Stock Market Crashes and Inflation Soars."

More - Legal Insurrection: "Inflation: ‘Food at Home Index Rose 13.5 Percent Over the Last 12 Months, the Largest 12-Month Increase Since the Period Ending March 1979’."