(RightWing.org) – Is America hopeless to end the inflationary spike and potential recession anytime soon? Some say the only way to solve a problem is to recognize there is one and to honestly address the root causes. The sign of a good leader is the willingness to make course corrections because people can follow those who are honest with them. What they generally won’t do is blindly follow a group intent on redefining reality to protect themselves.
In November, 2021, former Obama administration economist Steven Rattner blasted President Joe Biden and Democrats for not dealing honestly with the underlying issues that have given rise to the inflationary crisis hitting Americans’ bank accounts hard. Still, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and President Biden continue to present America with falsehoods. At least one Democratic economist dares to be honest with America despite the political ramifications for his party.
Pelosi and Biden Get Called Out For Misleading America
On Thursday, February 10, America began getting a sense of how bad the economy is – annually, inflation is up 7.5%. The consumer price index (CPI) measures the cost of everyday consumer goods. It was the highest reading since February 1982. The cost of food, housing, and energy skyrocketed, as did the cost of purchasing a vehicle and most goods one purchases.
The Labor Department reported that exploding inflation is eating hard into growing wage increases. Inflation has wiped out voter wage gains, and despite the rising wages, workers are not better off than they were before starting wages increased from $10 per hour to $15 or even $20 per hour.
On Sunday, February 13, the Speaker of the House demonstrated her complete lack of awareness about basic economic principles. She blamed inflation on people not returning fast enough to the workforce and said Biden’s radical Build Back Better agenda would reduce inflation. The president continues to blame supply chain problems for America’s economic woes.
Both are wrong, and until they address the core issues, things won’t get better as the Federal Reserve is preparing to raise interest rates in a no-win situation that could cause a severe recession sometime this year or in 2023.
Rattner Says Democrats are Misleading America
On Thursday, February 17, Former Obama Treasury official Steven Rattner wrote in the New York Times that Democrats continue to make a bad problem worse by misinforming the American public. He indirectly says that Democrats are too busy trying to protect themselves politically instead of acknowledging their policies failed, and they’re refusing to reverse course to starve out the growing economic crisis.
In a familiar refrain from November, Rattner said Biden is offering a “simplistic and misleading” characterization of the roots of inflation. The economist noted that the supply issues are not the cause of the inflationary pressures, and the repeated assertion is akin to complaining that a sweater is making one too hot while adding more logs to the fire.
Rattner again argued that an overstimulated economy caused the supply problems by trillions of dollars in government pandemic stimulus and spending. He stated that too much money was chasing too few goods after consumers underspent in 2020 and early in 2021 during the lockdowns. In the meantime, the government cut off manufacturing and supply, creating a challenge for manufacturers in even the best of circumstances as they tried to get back up to speed.
The Democratic economist stated that the demand problem the government created is the root of the supply problem. In basic economic principle, when demand exceeds supply, prices rise. The other problem is the pandemic sparked an escalation of retirements and resignations, leading to a massive spike in wages as businesses tried to woo people back to work.
Here’s the worst part of the story… Rattner called out Biden for suggesting his policies would reverse inflation. The problem is that the manufacturing plants Biden touted won’t even be operational until 2025. Meat prices aren’t at the heart of the problem. Rattner added that the White House needs to be more honest and transparent with Americans. He said inflation isn’t going away anytime soon, and that the only solution is time and aggressive action by the Federal Reserve.
Finally, Rattner said what Conservatives pointed out for decades: deficit reduction is as important as other initiatives. This is where things are sticky. Outside of the record-breaking spending proposals by Democrats in 2021, the GOP is guilty of spending recklessly as well over the last 20 years. Still, Rattner said Build Back Better was fuzzy math at best.
While Republicans claim to have learned their lesson, Democrats won’t even acknowledge their problem. If they refuse to take any responsibility for inflation, then voters will take matters into their own hands.
Don Purdum, Independent Political Analyst
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