Inflation: The Price You Pay for Biden’s Delusions
Our president’s proclivity for self-deception is wreaking havoc on the economy.
by David Catron
May 15, 2022, 11:14 PM
When the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that inflation had risen at an annual rate of 8.3 percent in April, the White House and many news outlets made much of the minuscule decrease from the 8.5 percent rate reported for March. President Biden issued a statement, for example, that called the infinitesimal decline “heartening.” CNN ran a story titled, “US inflation slowed last month for the first time since August.” This wasn’t terribly comforting, however, considering that the inflation rate has nearly doubled since last April while real wages declined by 2.6 percent.
Nor is it “heartening” to see that Biden is still in denial about the role his administration’s spending has played in igniting inflation. Here’s a typically delusional claim he made last week in response to a reporter’s question concerning how much responsibility he accepts for the inflation spike: “I think our policies help, not hurt.… Economists think that this is going to be a real tough problem to solve, but it’s not because of spending.” That claim conflicts with the opinions of most economists, including progressives like Obama economic advisor Steven Rattner, who wrote the following in the New York Times during November of 2021:
The original sin was the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, passed in March. The bill — almost completely unfunded — sought to counter the effects of the Covid pandemic by focusing on demand-side stimulus rather than on investment. That has contributed materially to today’s inflation levels.… So the administration should come clean with voters about the impact of its spending plans on inflation.
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https://spectator.org/inflation-the-price-you-pay-for-bidens-delusions/
