OPINION:
Average inflation under Donald Trump’s presidency was 2.1% in 2017; 2.4% in 2018; 1.8% in 2019; and 1.2% in 2020, according to USInflationCalculator.com. Average inflation for President Biden’s administration was 4.7% for all of 2021, followed by a steady uptick from January 2022, when it was 7.5%, through September, 8.3%.
Any questions?
But to Biden, inflation is up “hardly at all” — as he said on CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”
It’s actually “just an inch” higher than last reporting period, he said. And all that’s needed is a little “perspective,” he added.
Perspective?
Trump’s high: 2.4%.
Biden’s high: 9.1% from June. More perspective? Even most of Biden’s lows are higher than Trump’s highest.
Even when Biden’s winning, he’s still losing. Thus, his lies.
“We created all these jobs and prices have gone up, but they’ve come down for energy,” Biden said on CBS. “The fact is that we’ve created 10 million new jobs … [and] we’re in a situation where the unemployment rate is about 3.7%, one of the lowest in history. We’re in a situation where manufacturing is coming back to the United States in a big way.”
Firstly, government doesn’t create jobs; that’s a function of capitalism.
Secondly, the 10 million jobs Biden says his administration created — a reference to his American Rescue Plan, passed after government used the coronavirus to close down economies — was deemed a “mostly false” statement by PolitiFact. Yes, by even the left-leaning Poynter Institute’s PolitiFact.
“Critics of that law now say it also added to inflationary pressures that are dampening the economy,” PolitiFact wrote in August. “And although economists told PolitiFact the American Rescue Plan helped boost job creation to some extent, they said Biden is exaggerating the bill’s impact by crediting it with creating 10 million jobs.”
Onward and upward.
Thirdly, Biden may have a plan to reignite manufacturing in America via his campaign platforms as well as his recently passed Chips and Science Act to build electric vehicles, fiber optics, computer chips and the like on domestic grounds. And Biden may have pointed to a September announcement from microchip maker Micron to build a plant in Boise worth $15 billion over the next decade as proof of his commitment to enact his plan.
But what good is a plan to make it in America if the materials have to be purchased somewhere else?
As one opined in the News-Press: “‘Made in America will be meaningless unless it’s also ‘Mined in America.’”
Most of the rare earth elements needed to build out the vision Biden has for America’s new manufacturing — technology, alternative energy, electric vehicles — come from China, or are mined from sites that are controlled by China.
It’s great to give Americans a place to work via government incentives for businesses to produce domestically. But not when it benefits China more than it benefits Americans.
Good-paying jobs shouldn’t come by way of bowing down to communists.
“We’re gonna get control of inflation,” Biden promised, on CBS.
Sure. But first, some of that “perspective” Biden oh so likes and appreciates. From Fox News in August — these headlines: “Inflation costing the average American $717 a month” and “Higher prices already cost Americans $8,607 over past year.” From Partnership for a Healthier America — these sobering statistics: “Between rising food prices (up 5.4%), soaring costs for gasoline (up 49.6%) and skyrocketing rent (up 11.5%), millions of families already struggling with food insecurity are finding it even more difficult to put healthy meals on the table.” From CNBC — this blunt headline: “75% of middle-class households say their income is falling behind the cost of living.”
But Biden is working on it.
Biden’s administration is trying hard to fix it.
And that’s only right and proper — given they’re the ones who broke the working system in the first place.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.
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