Americans are seeing the highest rate of inflation in 40 years, resulting in a reduction of both their purchasing power and standard of living. This disproportionately impacts low-and middle-income families as they are forced to pay more for basic staples and food.
The 52 percent of Americans born after 1980 have never before experienced the devastating impact of rapid inflation on their quality of life.
During the 1970s the USA experienced stagflation. This economic downturn saw manufacturing jobs decline, unemployment increase, oil prices skyrocket and wages stagnate. The decade’s annual inflation rate was 7.9 percent.
Following this debacle, the Federal Reserve pursued monetary policies that tamed inflation by 1982. President Ronald Reagan’s policies cut regulations and taxes while slowing the growth of government, leading to an economic boom. Reagan’s first executive order eliminated price controls on oil and natural gas, which led to a boom in production; the price of oil declined by more than 50 percent. Median family income rose 76 percent, significantly higher than that decade’s cumulative rate of inflation. American pocketbooks grew.
Following almost 20 years of wage stagnation, things improved considerably from 2017 to 2020 under Presi dent Trump; median family income rose 16.2 percent vs. only 5.6 percent combined inflation. Once again, Americans had more disposable income and were able to enjoy the fruits of their labors.
COVID-19 has played a significant role in the economic decline since 2020. However, in a repeat of history, governmental actions have often hurt rather than helped.
As President Reagan stated upon taking office, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.”
While it is understandable that the federal government passed the initial relief aid to deal with COVID in March of 2020, it is questionable whether the second aid package was necessary and truly doubtful that the third $1.9 trillion boondoggle should have passed. Over $6 trillion was added to our national debt. If that wasn’t bad enough, President Biden proposed an additional $5 trillion in new spending. This excessive spending must stop!
Early on in COVID, our national economy basically shut down. It’s no surprise those states that reopened quickly, almost exclusively run by Republicans, are now booming economically. States that continued lockdowns, almost exclusively run by Democrats, still see high unemployment rates.
The percentage of Americans in the active work force has declined since January 2021. The federal government must stop the nonsense of rewarding welfare over work!
Lastly, we’ve seen a rapid increase in inflation. When too may dollars chase a reduction in available products, inflation rises. No one suffers from this more than the working class.
One contributing factor is the vast increase in the price of oil. On January 20, 2021, the average price of gas was $2.25 per gallon. It now exceeds $4 per gallon nationwide, with some states above $5. Economists estimate that this amounts to a $1,400 per year increase to the average driver.
While the administration blames this on Vladimir Putin, the reality is that oil prices rose shortly after President Biden took office.
On day one, Biden canceled the Keystone Pipeline. He also halted new oil and gas leases on federal lands and water and suspended leases in the Arctic refuge and New Mexico, despite opposition from the local Navajo Nation. Delays in other leases has resulted in higher energy costs for the most vulnerable consumers.
Biden has created several agencies charged with creating new policies to regulate energy. The people who run these councils are unelected and do not need Senate confirmation but are given broad powers to regulate energy. New burdensome regulations have added billions of dollars of cost to small businesses that pass this cost onto consumers. These are just a few of the many actions taken to eliminate American energy independence.
The administration acts as if inflation is temporary and claims the rise in gas prices is for the greater good. Tell that to the working family that struggles to put food on the table.
This insensitivity reminds us of Marie Antoinette as she said of starving French peasants seeking bread, “Well then let them eat cake.”
Maybe the limousine liberals who finance campaigns can afford $5 gasoline and Starbuck’s $7 white chocolate mocha soy Frappuccino with a double shot of espresso, but the working class cannot.
It’s time to stop the excessive spending and regulatory control over the American people; time will tell if modern day peasants with their pitchforks rise up and vote out this group of tone-deaf elitist politicians.
Comment
Comments