When I taught high school history and economics for 15 years, I used to get this question from a student at least once every year—”why can’t the government just print the money and eliminate our debt?” It’s quite the good question coming from a 16 or 17-year-old. Rather than dive into the experiences of Argentina, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, or even Germany’s doing just that in the 1920s, I always used the most practical example that they might understand.
I asked this question:
“If a plane flew over Walpole (the town where I taught) and dropped thousands of dollars in everyone’s backyard, how long do you think it would take the pizza shops or anyone else to realize they could ask and get a lot more for their products?” They always understood.
It’s a shame that Democrats in Congress didn’t and continue not to grasp this lesson from their own schooling or experience. Witness their jamming stimulus number three through on a pure party-line vote in March.
Worse, Democrats keep proposing still more spending, as if trying to outdo their colleagues. The more profligate with the largesse, the better, in their minds. Those few that suggest any moderation or prudence receive scorn and disdain from their fellow leftists. Perhaps they know their days are numbered and that they may never have control of the legislative branch again for years.
So what does the $1,400 that was borrowed and went out to middle and lower-income individuals achieve? To hear Democrats and their allies in the liberal media mob tell the story, the stimulus checks kept X number of families from going hungry or Y number of households from homelessness. But more money circulating has fueled price spikes across the board on practically everything. The very definition of inflation is too much money chasing the same amount of goods.
No one ever asks this question: if the average person will now have to spend $1,500 – $2,000 or more in 2021 due to higher food and gas prices, how exactly are people better off with the $1,400? They and the overall economy are both worse off! Further, inflation hits the poorest the hardest, as nearly all of their disposable income goes for the essentials. Elites don’t have an issue with paying an extra $10-15 for their steak at their favorite restaurant.
Democrats and elites are even trying to convince senior citizens to be giddy that they may be getting a 4-5% “raise” in their Social Security benefits in 2022. Yet it’s no raise at all. A cost of living adjustment just allows one to keep up, or put another way, not fall further behind. The Social Security Administration does not and has never handed out “raises” like the kind we think of with employers.
So, again, same question:
how is Grandma better off when she gets her $65 per month “raise” (the average increase due to the average recipient) on January 1, 2022? While equivalent to $780 for all of 2022, Grandma has likely already forked over more than that just to eat and pay for essentials like toothpaste, toilet paper, and the like in 2021. Answer: she’s not better off. No one is better off with inflation. It robs us all of our purchasing power. The current culprit is careless and reckless Democrat fiscal policy.
Voters appear prepared to exact their retribution at election time 2022 on those who robbed them of their hard-earned money. It should be easy. They are reminded of their plight every time they fill their gas tank or check out at the grocery store. Inflation will be Biden’s and the Democrats’ albatross, as neither can very well take back the stimulus or the bonuses are given out not to work. Sadly, once inflation starts, it’s incredibly difficult and then ultimately painful to stop.
Jeff Szymanski works in political communications at AMAC, a senior benefits organization with 2.4 million members. He previously taught high school economics for 15 years.
Inflation is an albatross around everyone’s neck, because everyone bares the cost of their money having less value in terms of buying power and thus value. Obviously those in the lower income quintiles experience a greater personal impact, because the resulting higher prices on all goods and services depletes their supply of dollars faster. Democrats and their socialist policies are merely the usual source that triggers inflation. Although an occasional “moderate” Republican, like Richard Nixon to name one, also shares some of the blame for enacting certain policies he hoped would appease the left and broaden his voter base.
Some members of the public can’t seem to connect the dots of cause and effect, because they are either a direct or indirect recipient of some of these socialist policies and are happy to disregard the more regressive side effects of those policies that impact everyone else. Whether you reference LBJ’s Great Society initiatives, that ballooned federal spending by creating new government social programs, in order to create a new dependent class and expanded voter base for Democrats, or something as recent as ObamaCare that partially nationalized the healthcare industry and imposed higher costs and a massive amount of new government regulations and bureaucracy on top of an already highly regulated sector of the economy, the net effect is the same: Higher inflation.
Will the Democrats pay a price in 2022? Perhaps, if the we return to the pre-2020 election processes we’ve used for over 200 years on a nation-wide basis. Will that magically cure the inflation that is being built into our economy through all the legislation the Democrats have either already rammed through or are planning to add in the next 18 months? No. That would require a repeal of much of the legislation that has already been passed or will be pushed through, via reconciliation, by the Democrats. That would require overwhelming Republican majorities in both houses of Congress to over-ride the expected Biden or Harris vetoes and also a spine of steel on the part of Congressional Republicans to actually do the job.
The first part might be possible, if enough of the country really wants change. The second part is the one I worry about. Establishment Congressional Republicans and especially the RINOs don’t have much or any real recent history of being willing to do the serious heavy lifting needed to undo this mess. That’s is just a realistic assessment of how Congressional Republicans have performed over the last decade. The American people would have to be a lot more active than they have shown they are prepared to be to force their Republican members of Congress to do their jobs. Anyway, nice article.
Excellent explanation to what and who are going to be affected by Biden’s inflation!! I’m already at the point of being broke Financially!!Worst President EVER!!!
Biden is a fool and is being led by communists. He, I think, is really a good person unable to think for himself. He and his party is renowned for being unable to understand ( or care) for economic
sucess. Donald Trump understood this to an amazing level. This economy will succeed every
time if govt gets the hell out of the way. As the great Ronald Reagan said ” I’m from the government and I’m here to help “. You know this is a crock.
Deflation happens when people decide it’s better to sit on their money than spend it in the economy. We need more of that!
And it is 100% percent their fault too, So let them have their reward for their horrible terrible pathetic leadership NEVER IN THIS NATIONS HISTORY HAS THERE BEEN ANY THING EVEN CLOSE TO THE GODLESS DIRECTION THEY ARE LEADING INTO LIKE A SNOWBALL GOING DOWN A VIRTUAL CLIFF.
It’s all true but I sense people still don’t understand – the democrat/socialists are intent on destroying the economy. NONE OF THIS IS ACCIDENTAL, g.d. it
There aren’t many more efficient ways to bring a people to their knees than to destroy their means of supporting themselves. Hyperinflation is one. We have been “set up” for that very thing to happen, most notably starting in 1933 when FDR called in all old coinage in circulation, make it illegal to own, other than collector’s pieces. The next big move came during 1965 when the government stopped minting circulating silver coinage and silver coins gradually vanished from people’s pockets and purses. Then in 1973, the fuse was really lit with Nixon’s removing the last “tie” of the US dollar to gold (and silver). The government from that time has had a blank check and an unlimited “credit card” for spending and both political parties have been guilty of gross fiscal irresponsibility. In the past, hyperinflation was somewhat limited by how fast paper money could be printed and the time required to make new higher denomination printing plates, today, a computer keyboard is the limiting factor and that is FAST, multi-trillion dollar changes are just a couple of keystrokes to create.
And if you are still voting Democrat or RINO next ELLECTION you are UNINFORMED or UNEDUCATED(stupid).
Inflation is so simple to understand you’d think even dems would ‘get’ it.
When you have to make funny money to cover unnecessary debt, the entire market is skewed toward that funny money. And until it’s removed through high inflation to pull that funny money back out of the economy, you’re not carrying real coinage on you.
Hence, nickleless nickles, silverless quarters and dimes, and BITCOIN, the truly fake money.
This is just cycle after cycle! Elect Democrats giving away millions and screwing up everything just to elect Republicans to fix the Democrat mess! And since, YES, it’s painful to fix inflation, the country elects Democrats again to stop the pain and more of the country is screwed up, so once again Republicans are elected to constantly fix the Democrats mess! Over and over! Remember the Carter years? Reagan came in and fixed things but for some it was really painful but for folks like me, it was a godsend since I was finally able to get a job and ride the economic wave that Reagan’s policies allowed for the economy! It’s so sad that too many have no clue how the economy works, how the government can screw it up and how free enterprise is really the answer and not this socialist crap that Democrats keep selling!
The most significant factor for inflation is just getting underway—Biden’s idiotic plan to raise the price of a gallon of gas to 10 dollars a gallon. Think things are bad now; wait until that fugitive from a nursing home increases the price. The idea is to force the public into buying battery-powered cars. The fallacy is that electric cars plug into a clean electric outlet, but this does not change anything. On the contrary, when counting the batteries’ production and hazardous waste disposal, per the federal government’s figures, the battery-powered cars are twice as dirty as diesel engines. Battery-powered cars make the pollution problem even more significant. Where does the electricity for that plug receptacle get the power; by burning fossil fuels or a nuclear facility? Both harm our environment, and windmills have shown they are not a viable replacement for fossil fuels. But here is the kicker. The rare earth necessary for the batteries production comes from China which controls 95% of the market. Biden and his crooked family is known to receive millions of dollars from China; think there might be a connection? Think about this; after everyone spends a fortune to switch to battery-powered cars and trucks, and our fossil-fueled vehicles are rendered worthless. All China has to do is shut down the rare earth production, and our entire country grinds to a halt. What we have here is the mentally challenged Liberal idiots at their worst. Think about it, have the liberals ever had an idea that worked?
I find it interesting to see Mr. President, standing alone, reading whatever crib note he has,
wearing a mask. Even more interesting…..his shadow is not behind him….maybe Ms. V.P. is taking the picture.
Biden, you are ruining the USA. I hope and pray that you go down!!!! You should be ashamed of yourself for being such a real creep Communist and lousy Catholic. People like you will never get to see God. I wish you and your Communist/Socialist cohorts go to hell and stay there.
Unfortunately in today’s society of freebies….we do not have people with enough common sense to know that they have been took. As far as social security, everytime I get a “raise”…the last one being $15….they just up my medicare premiums….and this grandmaw won’t get $64….she will get about $34. This communist regime is doing all they can to destroy our Republic….and if they continue, I forsee secession from states and a possible revolution against them.
My wifes raise in social security was four dollars. We have a Communist Federal Government now lead by a Pedophile how in the hell is that going to work for America. Self absorbed common thash will neve do anything good for this country their so called brain can not advance that far.
Hidin’ Joe Biden already has so many albatrosses hanging around his neck (most of them are called Democrats), there is no room for anything worthwhile to hang on. He is too old and obviously mentally deficient, he is a crook, he is anati-American, he is a Chinese asset in poor disguise along with his close family members, he is a liar, and he is a Communist leaning DemocRat (as are most DemocRats). AND he was elected by a dishonest and rigged election. My guess is he will last about another year until the puppet string pullers attached to him get tired or politically ambitious colleges realizes that Hidin’ Joe Biden is foolin’ nobody. Sadly, there is Camela Hairless … and she is almost as scary politically.
O’Biden & company, i.e. his puppet masters are essentially hanging a lead weight around every American’s neck with all the wasteful spending of taxpayer money. The stimulus monies that went around already was mostly candy money for most, but not all…As stated in this article, those on the lower economic rung of the ladder feel the inflationary pressures the most with the devalued dollar, i.e. inflation rearing it’s ugly head in real time…
Inflation does indeed impact all of us however, simply put, spending more to get less…
Bill on the Hill… :~)
The Tax and Spend Democrats Ride Again!This is what they are all about,the destruction of Middle Class America!