By Pat Ferguson, Auburn Indivisible
Reprinted from the June 19, 2023, Indivisible Newsletter
The GOP and some of your MAGA friends and relatives are pretty consistently saying that Republicans are better for the economy than Democrats. What can you say to rebut this? There are frequent references to the good old days under Reagan. Robert Reich, previous Secretary of Labor under Clinton and a member of Obama’s Economic Advisory Committee has this to say:
Right now the Republicans are attacking Biden and the Democrats over inflation. During Covid, prices on many items increased. But, the GOP likes to ignore the fact that inflation was a world-wide phenomenon. US inflation numbers look good in comparison to many other countries. A sampling shows Australia at 7%, UK at 8.7%, Germany at 6.1%, France at 5.1%, and the US at 4%. All of these numbers are as of May, 2023. There are outliers such as Argentina at 114% and Turkey at 40%.
Some of the Asian countries with tight government regulations and a lack of free markets have lower inflation rates. But, they have traded lower prices for loss of autonomy. Energy prices have affected many countries, especially European countries after the Russian incursion into Ukraine. (Financial Times)
Inflation rate in the US is going down under Biden’s administration. From a high of 9%, down to today’s 4%. Used car prices have kept the rate from dropping even more. “Costs for shelter, new vehicles, airfares, jet fuel, and rental cars have declined. Most Americans don’t note the nuances of these shrinking rates because it does not clearly affect their pocketbooks….Rising costs in the 1970’s and 80’s were expected by consumers and they put up with it.”(Moody’s Analytics)
Certainly the Inflation Reduction Act and the aggressive projects in infrastructure have helped, along with the Federal Reserve’s strategic interest rate increases. Supply issues still hamper complete recovery. But, employment/job numbers are on the rise. There is always a “policy lag” where it takes time for policies to have a noticeable effect that can be seen by the average American. Seventy-eight percent of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck under Trump. That number has already dropped over 20% under Biden.