Democrats’ Gaslighting About Their Inflationary Spending Is So Bad It’s Insulting

Democrats Are Desperately Trying To Gaslight The American Public About Their Inflationary Spending

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: “We have to talk about it because the American people think the reason for inflation is the government is spending more money. Simply not true.” (President Biden, Remarks, 3/11/2022)

HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): “So when we’re having this discussion, it’s important to dispel some of those who say, well, ‘Is the government spending – ‘ no, it isn’t. The government spending is doing the exact reverse, reducing the national debt. It is not inflationary.” (Speaker Pelosi, Press Conference, 3/11/2022)

Most Americans Aren’t Buying Democrats’ Absurd Excuses For Skyrocketing Inflation

“Voters also gave Democrats poor marks for handling inflation and the economy, which 50% cited as the top issue they want the federal government to address. … A majority of voters, 63%, said they disapproved of Mr. Biden’s handling of rising costs, the president’s worst rating on six policy issues surveyed in the poll. Meanwhile, 47% of voters said Republicans were better able to handle inflation, compared with 30% who preferred Democrats.” (“Biden, Democrats Lose Ground on Key Issues, WSJ Poll Finds,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/11/2022)

In Fact, President Biden And Other Democrats Previously ADMITTED That Their Reckless Spending Fueled Inflation

“President Biden [in November] conceded that inflation is at a three-decade high because ‘people have more money now’ as a result of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus legislation, recognizing a central point made by people who are arguing against a nearly $2 trillion sequel. Biden unexpectedly endorsed the stance of his critics who have said the US dollar is losing its buying power as a result of the government printing money to cover COVID-19 aid. The president said stimulus funds that he signed into law are in part to blame for demand exceeding the supply of goods, causing a backlog at major US ports and the highest rate of annual inflation since 1990.” (“Biden Concedes His COVID Stimulus Checks Fueled Spike In Inflation,” New York Post, 11/10/2021)

• PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: “And the irony is: People have more money now because of the first major piece of legislation I passed. You all got checks for $1,400. You got checks for a whole range of things. … But what happens if there’s nothing to buy and you got more money? You compete for getting it there. It creates a real problem. … Well, with more people with money buying product and less product to buy, what happens?… what happens? Prices go up. … But it also means we got a higher demand for goods at the same time we’re facing disruptions in the supplies to make those goods. [T]his is a recipe for delays and for higher prices, and people are feeling it. They’re feeling it. Did you ever think you’d be paying this much for a gallon of gas? In some parts of California, they’re paying $4.50 a gallon.” (President Biden, Remarks, 11/10/2021)

TREASURY SECRETARY JANET YELLEN: “[W]e are going through a period of inflation that’s higher than Americans have seen in a long time. And it’s something that’s obviously a concern and worrying them.… And, remember, the spending that we did that partially has caused this high demand for goods, it’s been very important in making sure that the pandemic hasn’t had a scarring effect on American workers.” (CNN, 10/24/2021)

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): “The most potentially inflationary part of ARP was the $1,400 checks, something I was always a little reluctant about from day one.” (“Democrats Grapple With Mixed Covid-19 Stimulus Legacy on Anniversary,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/11/2022)

SEN. ANGUS KING (I-ME): “Again, you’ve got to recall that this was done in a hurry… Given the timing and the state of the economy and the emergency, it was better to err on the side of overspending, if you will, in some areas, rather than take a chance on not doing enough.” (“Democrats Grapple With Mixed Covid-19 Stimulus Legacy on Anniversary,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/11/2022)

Even Economists Within The Biden Administration Rejected Left Spin Attempting To Lay The Blame For Inflation Elsewhere

“Members of the White House Council of Economic Advisers had raised objections to the idea that a spike in prices was due to corporate power, according to two people aware of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fears of professional reprisals. … To this point, Biden has mostly limited his remarks on corporate greed and inflation… Part of his hesitance reflects the trepidation among his economic team about whether inflation actually is tied to corporate consolidation. … [CEA] economists do not believe consolidation explains the 7.5 percent surge in prices over the last year.” (“White House Economists Push Back Against Pressure To Blame Corporations For Inflation,” The Washington Post, 2/17/2022)

• “[M]any economists, including those influential with the White House, think these arguments are strained. In particular, they say high corporate profits and high prices are both the function of the same underlying cause of elevated consumer demand. Higher demand leads companies to raise prices, causing inflation, which in turn leads to higher profits. Even many liberal economists, such as Baker and Claudia Sahm of the Jain Family Institute, have dismissed the argument that consolidation accounts for a major part of inflation.” (“White House Economists Push Back Against Pressure To Blame Corporations For Inflation,” The Washington Post, 2/17/2022)

• “Former Democratic treasury secretary Larry Summers and Jason Furman, a top economist in the Obama administration, have also been openly critical of the attempts to blame corporations for inflation. ‘Business bashing is terrible economics and not very good politics in my view,’ Summers said in an interview.” (“White House Economists Push Back Against Pressure To Blame Corporations For Inflation,” The Washington Post, 2/17/2022)

ANONYMOUS BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SOURCE: “It’s been the war of the ‘track changes’ inside the administration over how much the White House can lean in on the extent to which competition and greed are driving inflation.” (“White House Economists Push Back Against Pressure To Blame Corporations For Inflation,” The Washington Post, 2/17/2022)

A Former Obama Administration Economist Declares, ‘This Is Biden’s Inflation And He Needs To Own It’

STEVEN RATTNER, Former Obama Administration Counselor to the Treasury Secretary: “This is Biden’s inflation and he needs to own it.” (Steve Rattner, @SteveRattner, Twitter, 3/10/2022)

Rattner Previously Explained That President Biden Blaming Supply Chain Issues For Inflation Is ‘Dishonest’ And ‘Misleading’ Because ‘The Bulk Of Our Supply Problems Are The Product Of An Overstimulated Economy’

“A former Treasury Department official who served in the Obama administration on Thursday shot back at President Biden’s stated reasons for the extreme rise in inflation in an op-ed published in The New York Times. Steven Rattner, who served as counselor to the Treasury secretary, wrote in an op-ed for the Times that Biden was mischaracterizing the cause of the extreme inflation the U.S. is currently experiencing. When interviewing Biden last week, NBC News anchor Lester Holt pressed the president on the ongoing rise in inflation, noting that he had said last year that the heightened inflation would be temporary. This line of questioning appeared to vex Biden somewhat as he responded by calling Holt a ‘wise guy.’” (“Former Obama Official: Biden Dishonest To Blame Supply Chain For Inflation,” The Hill, 2/17/2022)

STEVE RATTNER: “In an interview with Lester Holt of NBC last week, President Biden hewed closely to his talking points on inflation, which over the past 12 months has risen at its fastest rate in 40 years. ‘The reason for the inflation is the supply chains were cut off,’ he insisted, as he has done several times before. Well, no. That’s both simplistic and misleading. For starters, the supply chains have not been ‘cut off,’ just stretched. And supply issues are by no means the root cause of our inflation. Blaming inflation on supply lines is like complaining about your sweater keeping you too warm after you’ve added several logs to the fireplace.” (Steve Rattner, Op-Ed, “Biden Keeps Blaming the Supply Chain for Inflation. That’s Dishonest.,” The New York Times, 2/17/2022)

• “The bulk of our supply problems are the product of an overstimulated economy, not the cause of it. … All that consumption has resulted from vast amounts of government rescue aid (including three rounds of stimulus checks) and substantial underspending by consumers during the lockdown phase of the Covid crisis.” (Steve Rattner, Op-Ed, “Biden Keeps Blaming the Supply Chain for Inflation. That’s Dishonest.,” The New York Times, 2/17/2022)

REMINDER: ‘A Chorus Of Economists Point To Government Policies As A Big Part Of The Reason U.S. Inflation Is At A 40-Year High’

It Was Quickly Apparent Last Year That Democrats’ Thirst For Government Largesse Had Resulted In A Spending Spree That Was ‘Definitely Too Big For The Moment’ ‘[T]hat Has Contributed Materially To Today’s Inflation Levels’

JASON FURMAN, Former Obama White House chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers: “It’s definitely too big for the moment. I don’t know any economist that was recommending something the size of what was done.” (“Obama, Biden Economists in Conflict on Inflation Jump, Spending,” Bloomberg News, 5/12/2021)

STEVEN RATTNER: “Enough already about ‘transitory’ inflation…. How could an administration loaded with savvy political and economic hands have gotten this critical issue so wrong? They can’t say they weren’t warned — notably by Larry Summers, a former Treasury secretary and my former boss in the Obama administration, and less notably by many others, including me. We worried that shoveling an unprecedented amount of spending into an economy already on the road to recovery would mean too much money chasing too few goods.” (Steven Rattner, Op-Ed, “I Warned the Democrats About Inflation,” The New York Times, 11/16/2021)

• RATTNER: “The original sin was the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, passed in March. The bill — almost completely unfunded — sought to counter the effects of the Covid pandemic by focusing on demand-side stimulus rather than on investment. That has contributed materially to today’s inflation levels.” (Steven Rattner, Op-Ed, “I Warned the Democrats About Inflation,” The New York Times, 11/16/2021)

JASON FURMAN: ‘The United States Has Had Much More Inflation Than Almost Any Other Advanced Economy In The World’ Because ‘The United States’ Stimulus [Spending] Is In A Category Of Its Own’

“‘The United States has had much more inflation than almost any other advanced economy in the world,’ said Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard University and former Obama administration economic adviser, who used comparable methodologies to look across areas and concluded that U.S. price increases have been consistently faster. The difference, he said, comes because ‘the United States’ stimulus is in a category of its own.’” (“Rapid Inflation Fuels Debate Over What’s to Blame: Pandemic or Policy,” The New York Times, 1/22/2022)

LARRY SUMMERS: “I’m not sure that we would have the inflation if there had never been a pandemic and, even if there had been a pandemic, without the overwhelming stimulus that was applied well into recovery — during 2021.” (“Summers Says Pandemic Only Partly To Blame For Record Inflation,” The Harvard Gazette, 2/4/2022) 

“At a moment when stubbornly rapid price gains are weighing on consumer confidence and creating a political liability for President Biden, White House officials have repeatedly blamed international forces for high inflation … But a chorus of economists point to government policies as a big part of the reason U.S. inflation is at a 40-year high. While they agree that prices are rising as a result of shutdowns and supply chain woes, they say that America’s decision to flood the economy with stimulus money helped to send consumer spending into overdrive, exacerbating those global trends.” (“Rapid Inflation Fuels Debate Over What’s to Blame: Pandemic or Policy,” The New York Times, 1/22/2022)

“Many economists supported protecting workers and businesses early in the pandemic, but some took issue with the size of the $1.9 trillion package last March under the Biden administration. They argued that sending households another round of stimulus, including $1,400 checks, further fueled demand when the economy was already healing. Consumer spending seemed to react: Retail sales, for instance, jumped after the checks went out. Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the U.S. government spent too much in too short a time in the first half of 2021.” (“Rapid Inflation Fuels Debate Over What’s to Blame: Pandemic or Policy,” The New York Times, 1/22/2022)

“[E]conomists are increasingly pointing to the scale and size of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan — which Democrats passed less than two months after Biden came to office — as too big to fill the economy’s hole. This stimulus re-extended more generous unemployment benefits of $400 a week, gave many Americans another round of stimulus checks and expanded the Child Tax Credit, though it has since expired. It also strengthened nutritional assistance and school lunch programs. Many Democrats — except a rare few, such as Lawrence H. Summers, who served under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — initially waved off concerns that the spending power of the package could overwhelm the economy and flame inflation. But over time, it became clear that the massive influx in cash that went straight to American households, plus billions more dollars pumped into the broader economy, overheated the recovery…. And as time goes on, an increasing number of economists concede that the American Rescue Plan was too big to fill the hole left by the coronavirus recession.” (“What To Know About Inflation: Rising Prices Hit In U.S., Around The World,” The Washington Post, 2/09/2022)