According to Democrats, inflation started out as transitory, then it was “hotter than expected, but would cool next year.” At times it was Vladimir Putin’s fault, and at times inflation was actually a good thing. Soon, inflation would be solved by simply spending another $740 billion. Most recently, you’re a Nazi if you care about inflation. Now Biden expects us to believe that if we elect Republicans, inflation will be even worse?
How can anyone take this desperate change in messaging seriously when Biden has either ignored the issue, or has blamed everyone and everything but his own policies for America’s economic woes? Polling can fluctuate wildly in American politics, but it’s safe to say that the national mood does not. Throughout the year, inflation and the economy have dominated as the chief concerns for voters.
With less than two weeks left before Election Day, Biden and Democrats’ closing argument is that Republicans want to ruin the economy. Seeing as Republicans have now regained the momentum and are expanding their lead in key states and on the generic ballot, it should come as no surprise that Democrats are trotting out this tired Obama-era talking point that Republicans are out to destroy the economy for political gain. As if that isn’t exactly what we have seen from Democrats these past two years? Biden has suffocated American energy independence as a means to appease radical environmentalists, his spending packages have amounted to giveaways to key left-wing constituencies, and the federal regulatory apparatus seeks to reduce market competition to benefit left-wing labor unions. What does the American taxpayer receive in return? 87,000 new IRS agents and a student loan giveaway to the wealthy and well-connected, not to mention a $31 trillion national debt.
American economic prospects have only worsened over the course of the Biden Presidency. High inflation remains stagnant. Gas prices remain stubbornly high. Mortgages and rent prices continue to rise. The markets have taken a beating in recent weeks, and most economists now forecast a looming recession, yet Biden has the gall to say that Republicans are the ones we need to be worried about?
What has been the single common denominator for the past two years? Single-party Democratic rule of Washington, DC. Democrats have no answer when it comes to inflation, because they themselves know that their economic agenda just doesn’t work.
In spite of what voters are saying, President Biden and Democrats have doubled down on the same failed economic policies time and time again. Massive spending packages and regulatory schemes have no doubt contributed to higher prices and supply chain disruptions.
The past two years tell us that Democrats’ economic policies simply don’t work. However, the strength of the US economy prior to the Covid-19 pandemic shows us just how successful a free-market approach can be. President Trump and the GOP’s 2018 tax cuts spurred private sector spending that resulted in economic growth at all levels, something which government spending simply cannot do. Unlike government spending, private sector spending does not distort the marketplace.
When it comes to energy, economist Steve Moore recently pointed out that oil production in particular is down two million barrels from what it was in 2019. There is no doubt that Biden’s moratorium on drilling leases contributed to such a decline. Instead of American energy independence, Biden is now reduced to begging foreign despots for oil, while simultaneously weakening American national security by depleting the strategic oil reserve.
The price of energy impacts the price of nearly every other good and service, meaning Biden’s destructive energy agenda has resulted in exponential damage to the American economy. At the same time, Americans directly feel the impact of his anti-energy policies whenever they fill up their gas tanks. It is no wonder that inflation has continued to be the number one issue driving this election cycle.
Biden claims that Republicans will be worse for the economy. Worse? As opposed to what we have already seen in the past two years?
Adam Brandon is the President of FreedomWorks
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller