I don’t envy the people who have to make political cartoons today. When politicians are already caricatures of themselves, how can anyone else compete for the comedic gold? For instance, in the midst of inflation rates unlike anything we have seen for generations, the Democrats think that the best solution was to pass multi-trillion-dollar spending bills at full speed.
Inflation under Biden has already sharply increased after being dormant for three decades under conservative fiscal policies established by a Republican-controlled Congress. Multi-trillion dollar spending programs dependent on more borrowing to pay for them will only fan the flames of greater inflation.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) observed that the $3.5 trillion Democrat infrastructure bill was “completely inappropriate for the country, which is already suffering from dramatic inflation.” Undeterred, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is determined to push this through without a single Republican vote. Biden even admitted to reporters, “I’m not sure what may happen, exactly how it’s going to be paid for.”
While President Biden may not know where the money will come from, I can certainly narrow it down to two possibilities. There are only two options available for funding this: an increase in taxes, or an increase in borrowing causing greater pressure on inflation. There is no third choice. Either way, the American people come out as the big losers.
Inflation may not be a tax in the traditional sense of the word, but it drains the bank accounts of everyday Americans just as easily. While the government prints more and more money, the nest egg you have carefully put away for years will quickly become less and less valuable. Prices go up and savings go down. Arguably, inflation is more of a tax than taxes are. Either way, the last thing Congress needs to do right now is throw Monopoly money around recklessly. Conservative fiscal policy is the surest way for government to get out of the way of families in pursuit of the American dream. Biden-flation needs to be called out as the tax it is.
