"A dozen large eggs, $5.33 at Walmart," my mother texted from Mississippi. "Thanks, Joe," and, "Half of America voted for that," my brothers replied in turn. Suddenly, I recalled those "I did that" stickers on gas pumps. At least most people understand that printing fiat money causes inflation. I'm no fan of Biden, either, but I couldn't join the pile on Biden for reasons I will explain.
I cannot forget Trump's inflationary policies so I can’t blame all the inflation on his successor. Senators like Ted Cruz (R-TX) might tweet about "#Bidenflation" and Roger Wicker (R-MS) might use the term on his official web site, but they're both wrong.
Did you know that Trump and Biden were responsible for double digit percent monthly increases in the money supply from February 2020 to February 2022? Or that Trump was responsible for 2/3 of the six trillion in pandemic spending -- and wanted more? I'm sure Republican lawmakers would like you to forget. You should ask yourself why.
On top of this, the high egg prices -- much more than everything else -- resemble gas prices early in Biden's term. Republicans rightly complained that Biden's energy policies were causing gas prices to rise by constricting supply and urged him to allow more drilling. They knew then that there was more than one factor behind the high gas prices and made sure we knew it too.
Now? Republicans parrot #Bidenflation! and only leftist outlets like the New York Times or the Guardian explain that the bird flu cost farmers 44 million egg-laying hens -- that take five months to replace.
It's common sense that egg prices will rise due to a reduction in supply even if the dollar were stable. Conservatives used to joke about hiding pistols from gun-grabbing Democrats inside economics textbooks: How times have changed!
Biden understands supply and demand better than most conservatives. That's why, beholden to the anti-fossil fuel elements and socialist sympathizers in his party, he has opted to increase the supply of petroleum ... from Venezuela.
While Republicans admit inflation is caused by government spending -- but pretend to be innocent -- Democrats blame the messenger: Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Jack Reed (D-RI) would have us believe that "corporate greed" or "collusion" among mustache-twisting egg farmers caused the price increases -- so they can meddle in the farmer’s businesses or take their cut after siccing regulators on them. (Leave it to the self-professed champions of "the people" to forget that egg farmers have bills to pay, too.)
Like their compatriots across the aisle, Sanders and Reed took their part in making our prices worse from massive spending. And they, too, are happy to pull the wool over our eyes -- to cover up or excuse their past sins while they help themselves to more control over the economy they helped wreck.
Republicans who are goading conservative voters to blame Biden for everything, willy-nilly are discrediting themselves as a viable alternative. It’s a historical fact that Trump spent like a drunken Democrat, which contributed to today’s inflation.
Anyone can tease out how supply problems worsened gasoline and egg prices. Biden did for gas, and Vox, of all places, recently explained how supply problems would raise eggs prices and warned that a spring flu could keep eggs high.
A pox on both parties for spending too much, and for ignoring basic economics when it suits them!
In January, a Gallup poll indicated that Americans rated bad government and inflation as America's two most serious problems, with nearly half those polled rating the economy as poor.
Polls also indicate that solid majorities of Americans would be "angry" or "dissatisfied" if either Trump or Biden won the '24 election. In terms of popularity, spending, and inflation, there isn't a dime's worth of difference between them.
Oddly, not one analysis of these polls mentioned that the government is "of the people, by the people, for the people." Perhaps if more of us remembered who the actual boss is, our patience for lame excuses, evasion, and finger-pointing would wear thin. And perhaps our hiring process, the election cycle, would turn out better candidates.
I'm afraid my brother was only half-right on inflation: All of America "voted for this."
