We’re two years into the worst pandemic in 100 years.
More than 950,000 Americans are already dead.
The inflation rate is 7.5%.
And Republicans are still trying to make everything worse.
What is causing current inflation?
In 2022, inflation is global. Supply chain disruptions and increased transportation costs are affecting the entire world.
In the US, the strength of the Biden Boom has delivered record job growth and large wage increases for many workers—putting more consumer spending power to work.
As Jeanna Smialek wrote recently in The New York Times:
The coronavirus has caused factories to shut down and has clogged shipping routes, helping to limit the supply of cars and couches and pushing prices higher. Airfares and rates for hotel rooms have rebounded after dropping in the depths of the pandemic. Gas prices have also contributed to heady gains recently… (meanwhile) consumers… are spending robustly and their demand is driving part of inflation. They are continuing to buy even as costs for exercise equipment or outdoor furniture rise, and they are shouldering increases in rent and home prices.
At the same time, corporate greed is making inflation a whole lot worse, as many leading companies brag to shareholders that they are doing far more than raising prices in line with costs. They are gouging consumers with higher prices simply because they can.
As families feel the pain, the GOP is turning the screws
Spend five minutes on Twitter and you’ll quickly get a sense of how gleeful Republicans are that inflation is back to Reagan-era levels.
Even Mike Pence, who did more to spread death and disease to every corner of America than anyone but Trump himself, is celebrating the rising cost of avocados.
Despite the fact that the root cause of current US inflation is Trump’s reckless and incompetent response to the pandemic—and despite the fact that, for example, inflation is at a 30-year-high in the Conservative-led UK—Republicans have been weaponizing inflation since the earliest days of the Biden Presidency, seeing it as winning issue for the 2022 midterms.
The GOP is so intent on sticking it to Biden, no matter the collateral damage to everyday Americans, that this week, when Democrats scheduled a committee hearing to vote on five new Federal Reserve Board nominees, not a single Republican showed up.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki described the Republicans’ move to block the vote as “totally irresponsible,” adding: “It’s never been more important to have confirmed leadership at the Fed to help continue our recovery and fight inflation.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the committee’s chairman, said: “Instead of showing up to work to do their jobs, Republicans have walked out on the American people.”
And DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison told reporters: “It’s the Democratic Party that is the only party with an actual plan to lower costs for American families. And yet again, our Republican colleagues are doing nothing but trying to stand in the way.”
Blocking votes on Fed nominees is one thing. Supporting illegal blockades in a foreign country is another.
The GOP is actively sabotaging the US economy
As Ruth Ben-Ghiat wrote in a recent post on Substack:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have supported the convoys with an enthusiasm that has led Canadian authorities to lodge protests against “foreign interference.”
Other GOP politicians and Fox commentators are encouraging copycat protests in the US. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) declares “I hope the truckers do come to America, and I hope they clog up cities.”
In Michigan, Republicans running for Governor practically rejoiced at the $300 million in economic pain the Ottawa protests were inflicting on their home state—including an estimated $51 million in lost wages to Michigan workers.
But inflicting pain is the plan. As Ben-Ghiat wrote:
Just as the Republicans uncaringly spread mass disease by rejecting public health mandates, so they are apparently willing to inflict economic pain on Americans through truck blockades if those will further their political goals.
The good news: First, there’s a limit to the harm Republicans can do. Second, there are already some signs that inflation is easing in some key areas. (As Kiplinger reports: “Meat prices are edging down after jumping 15% in the past year. The cost of car insurance and car and truck rentals dropped. The price of admission to sporting events is normalizing after a big run-up last year”). And third, the Federal Reserve looks set to launch a series of rate hikes, beginning as soon as March.
A better outlook for inflation—and Democrats
With the expected impact of monetary tightening, plus an ease to supply chain issues, and with the inflated view of inflation caused by “base effect” comparisons fading out during 2022, inflation is expected to fall substantially as the year progresses.
By November, as “excess inflation” gets wrung out of the economy and the annual inflation rate approaches more normal levels, savers will also be seeing higher returns on their fixed-income acounts. As AARP puts it, that’s “a win for income-starved savers.” And, if Democrats get their messaging right, voters will be more aware than ever of the powerful economic impact of “Bidenomics.”
Selling the good news about the Biden Boom will be a lot easier once inflation is back under control.
Until then, Republicans are actively working to prolong the misery for as long as possible.
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