|
Op-Ed: Inflation excuses miss the point
[The Center Square] State Sen. Scott
Martin | Pennsylvania’s 13th district
No matter where we go,
it’s impossible to escape inflation. The gas pump. The grocery store.
The Christmas tree farm. No matter how uncomfortable or politically
inconvenient, it’s an inevitable truth that everything we buy these days
costs more. |
|
Except, it is politically inconvenient for some to admit the
fact that higher wages, stimulus checks and work bonuses – if you received any
of those – somehow haven’t kept pace with rising prices. And denying the facts
leaves those people no other option than to claim a conspiracy aimed at
derailing President Joe Biden’s multi-trillion dollar social spending spree.
Yes, that’s a defense against those higher prices you see
staring back at you from the grocery store shelves. First this inflation was
supposed to be transitory, the result of pandemic-squeezed supply chains driving
the price of goods skyward that would eventually unravel itself. Then it became
a sign of growth, of positivity, of a nation roaring back to life after a
once-in-a-century virus ground civilization to a halt for more than a year.
Now, as Americans struggle with the cost of food and electricity, policymakers
and pundits alike, often without a shred of fiscal acumen, insist the concern
about inflation has turned hysteric. It’s only bad news for the 1%, The
Intercept says. It’s scaremongering, says The Washington Post. Sure, the
consumer price index’s year-over-year spike may be the highest we’ve seen in 30
years, but really it’s not hurting the workers as much as it is the employers,
says Vox.
Meanwhile, we brace for double digit energy price increases this winter.
Manufacturers say supply chain disruptions will last deep into 2022. And the
Biden spending plan, with its deceptive $1.7 trillion price tag, threatens to
plunge us into a dreaded inflationary spiral that some of the most powerful
people in this country refuse to even acknowledge, let alone prevent.
One need look no further than Pennsylvania’s own governor, who in the twilight
of his reign spends a lot of time berating Republicans for balking at demands to
double the minimum wage or spend COVID relief money like it’s going out of
style.
[to top of second column] |
Democrats here in Harrisburg and 120 miles away on
Capitol Hill beat the same drum ad nauseum. The subtext of the
criticism never changes: money will solve all of society’s problems
and Republicans are too selfish to do anything about it.
It’s easy to paint Republicans as cartoonishly
greedy budget hawks when you leave out the effects of reckless
spending – a budget hole so cavernous that no accounting gimmick on
earth could ever hope to fill it.
It’s then, of course, that taxpayers are left
holding the proverbial bag. It happened just a decade ago, when
state lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell poured nearly $1
billion in one-time stimulus funds into public education that
couldn’t be reproduced a year later without massive tax hikes few
could afford. Students, especially in economically disadvantaged
school districts, saw programs cut, class sizes grow, building
maintenance deferred and learning opportunities depleted.
The last thing any of us need is more economic policies built on
delusions of grandeur. It’s time Gov. Tom Wolf and his likeminded
allies, whether in the state or in Washington, acknowledge the mess
they’ve made for millions of Americans, many of whom saw their lives
crumble under the weight of draconian shutdowns and economic
sanctions that lasted far too long.
Higher wages mean nothing when the value of the dollar continues to
diminish. We must find a way to encourage economic growth and
opportunity that doesn’t rely on massive, unsustainable government
spending. What happens when those extra dollars stop coming? The
very people these programs are meant to help will pay the highest
price.
State Sen. Scott Martin, a Republican, represents Pennsylvania’s
13th district in Lancaster County.
|
