The Biden White House Will Pay for Playing Inflation Games

Townhall.com ^ | October 15, 2021 | David Harsanyi

[Kaslin]

White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain recently endorsed the idea that inflation and supply-chain struggles Americans are struggling with are "high class problems."

I'm in no position to comment on whether the inflation spike we're experiencing is "transitory" or not (though, metaphysically speaking, isn't everything!). Maybe it will be a short-term problem sparked by supply shocks and pent-up post-COVID demand, or maybe inflation will linger for years and become a self-fulfilling prophecy due to expectations. Whatever the case, a president who feels comfortable with taking credit for "creating" millions of jobs after state-compelled shutdowns is likely going to be blamed. You can't have it both ways.

And while it's not unreasonable for an economist such as Jason Furman to point out that, in the big picture, most of America's tribulations are "high class," it's quite a different story for the administration to dismiss those concerns. Because in our reality -- the one where the president promised to fix everything -- the inflation debate is important for a number of reasons.

One, the administration is, as we speak, campaigning to cram through a welfare-state bill that could dump another $5.5 trillion into the economy. What justification is there for unprecedented spending when inflation is accelerating? Democrats have already passed an additional nearly $2 trillion in expenditures in the first six months of the Biden administration, and the economy is still underachieving.

When asked whether he believed that passing another colossal spending bill would exacerbate the problem, the same president who contends that his $5.5 trillion welfare-state expansion bill costs "zero" argues that more spending would "reduce inflation, reduce inflation, reduce inflation."

Biden has waved away inflation concerns on numerous occasions, once arguing that "no serious economist" was suggesting that "unchecked inflation" was on the way. This was four months ago. We are now in our sixth month of historic spikes. I'm not sure if Biden considers Larry Summers, former Treasury secretary for Bill Clinton and Barack 0bama's National Economic Council director, a serious economist, but Summers seems to believe runaway inflation and bottleneck supply-chain problems pose a serious risk to the economy.

As a political matter, inflation isn't some abstract philosophical debate but something tangible and historically fraught. The older you are, the most sensitive you likely are to the potential harms of inflation, having either lived through the 1970s or heard about that dreadful decade from your parents. Even as a kid, I can remember the specter of "inflation" hanging over the adult world. The era's stagnation was fixed only with the institution of high interest rates and a couple of serious recessions. Inflation conjures up images of gas lines and "crisis of confidence" speeches.

For retirees, inflation means instant wealth destruction. For everyone else, it means immediate hikes in the cost of living. Consumer prices, led by energy and food prices, have increased 5.4% overall since last year, which is the largest increase since 1991. The producer price index is up 8.6% over the past year -- in its sixth month of record highs. Social Security benefits will rise nearly 6% for retirees in 2022 because of a cost-of-living adjustment -- the biggest surge in decades. So, apparently, the government believes the transitory period will extend at least into the next year.

Gas is up 42% over last year as well -- the cost of which is embedded in nearly everything (and counterproductive anti-gouging policies will surely make the situation worse, but that's another story). This week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said it expects households to see their heating bills jump as much as 54% compared with last winter.

Even as Klain was retweeting Furman, Politico reported that the White House has been "consulting" the oil industry "to seek a remedy for rising gasoline prices as surging inflation threatens to tarnish the economic recovery." This comes a few months after Biden asked OPEC to increase output.

This is all quite confusing, as, even now, Democrats are campaigning to pass policies designed to increase the cost of energy by limiting the availability of fossil fuels. Perhaps Biden, unmoored from economic reality, will tell us that higher energy costs are actually good for the economy. But it's hard to think of anything more unpopular with the electorate than paying a lot for gas or food, high-class problem or not.

[Track9]

They obviously don’t pay for all the real crimes they commit but even the DOJ can’t stop the laws of nature.

[RoosterRedux]

Liberals are ideological bound-up in their thinking and have no common sense when it comes to how things work.

If common sense is at odds with their ideology, common sense must be wrong.

[Baldwin77]

They Cheat.

They Win.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

I dont even want to think where we are going to be 3 years from now especially if McConnell and RINOs allow democrats to steal the midterms.

If Trump runs in 2024 and wins and the left starts up again with the mass protests and crying and rioting and “not my President” crap, I’m sorry but I’m going to jail for assault.

[Flick Lives]

The Biden regime will blame the unvaccinated for all the economic woes. “If they only did as we told them, we wouldn’t have these supply problems. Their selfish behavior has caused all the trouble.”

[Bratch]

White House Chief of Staff Is Not Worried About ‘The Help’ Dealing With Inflation

October 14, 2021 | Sundance | 215 Comments

If you are wonder whether the White House is concerned about the middle-class being impacted by massive increases in gasoline, high home heating costs, extreme food inflation and empty shelves…   Well, the message from White House chief of staff Ron Klain is very telling:

Apparently feeding your family and making ends meet is a “high class problem.”

The elitism and disconnect from the average American always shows up when you look at DC democrats writ large.   They always talk down to those they view as ‘the help’.

[Sirius Lee]

Woman: "I'm struggling to pay for food for my children, but that means I can't pay for heat, and if I pay for heat, I can't afford to put gas in my car to get to work to pay for food."

Klain: "The problem wit youz is youz too high class."

[laconic]

Yes, its “high class” to want to eat, pay for gas so you can get to work, pay rising interest rates on an adjustable mortgage so you have a roof over your head, buy staples at Wal-Mart or Office Depot, and get things fixed that stop working in your house Part of the problem with Klain, Biden, “Doctor” Jill and the others is that they have never worked in the private sector, living off the public dole has been quite lucrative and they couldn’t care less about what working people or small business have to deal with on a daily basis. They are our overlords, or at least they think they are.

[griswold3]

As long as they can scapegoat the crisis to the GOP a.k.a. The Washington Generals of politics

[Spok]

Peeing down our backs and telling us it’s raining. The Clueless Joe administration will go down in history as breaking all traditional boundaries and setting new standards for lies, deception and propaganda. Orwell may have underestimated the government’s capacity to convince the populace not to believe their own eyes.

[Empire_of_Liberty]

Biden is there to “pay” for all of this - at least take the blame.

The Left destroys America and blames a sock puppet.

[antidemoncrat]

‘inflation and supply-chain struggles Americans are struggling with are “high class problems.”’

Translate please.

[VTenigma]

No the won’t, it’s all part of the plan.

[windsorknot]

But will Brandon pay the price that he deserves?

[JLAGRAYFOX]

Want to destroy the entire Democrat Party....Virginia voters, all. Just go out and vote against Democrat, Terry McAuliffe, who is so frightened of losing, that he is bringing in failed Democrats, Biden, Harris, Obama, Pelosi, Jill Biden, Stacey Abrams, to campaign for him,...none of which can gather a substantial crowd of supporters!!!

I’m serious,defeat McAuliffe and Biden and the Democrat Party go down!!! It is as simple as that!!! Do it and save the American Nation Republic!!! Vote for Republican, Glenn Youngkin!!!

[OrioleFan]

I once heard a democrap politicial say all we need are several years of 100% inflation and all our debt problems are solved. Looks like Biden is aiming high.

[oldtech]

Biden had best just keep his mouth shut after all the destruction his administration has caused. It could have been mostly avoided by following what was “in the works” before he was elected, but that seemed to be exactly what Biden wanted to avoid. The man needs to be taken out behind the barn & worked over. He has just about ruined this country. Now all this is not to say he didn’t have some help. Those who who were “helping” were apparently un-elected meddlers & I’m not sure just what their punishment should consist of, but am thinking of something perhaps a little harsher than what Biden himself needs to receive. After all, he could have taken some good advice rather than what he was receiving. Just consider the condition our country is in now & multiply it by another 3 years. That is a bit beyond a scary thought.

[Elsie]

The Biden White House Will Pay for Playing Inflation Games

No; we will.