Leading House Democrat Thinks Inflation Is a Theoretical Word

By
Conservative Research Group
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Republican Pramila Jayapal (chair of the Progressive Caucus) tried to teach a lesson about progressive economics Friday by commenting on the Inflation Reduction Act.

Jayapal told reporters that it would ultimately lead to a decrease in overall inflation and, most importantly, to a decrease in the budget people have each day. “Inflation is a theory that economists use. But what families feel every single day is the up or down in costs.

Wow! That’s all I can even say.

Caleb Heimlich (the Chairman of Washington State GOP) had a sharp response.

Ed Morrissey:

It’s the term and it’s not something that economists can study. And certainly not for American workers. These have experienced many “ups” in the 17 months since Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan stimulus bill in March 2021. This was only offset by a “down” last month in gas prices that reflected a sharp fall in demand. Since the first month following Congress’ massive spending bill, under reconciliation, inflation has risen to above 4%. It has remained this high for so long it has become a routine. Inflation is now higher than the comparable data from last year when it was already high. This makes all these year-on-year numbers look worse than they actually are.

Ed is right. The fact that we are starting at an elevated price point will affect the perception of inflation. Prices will never be the same as they were 14 months ago. Wages have risen, but not fast enough to keep up with inflation.

Jayapal might try a Jedi mind trick to fool the weak by pretending that inflation isn’t a real-world phenomenon. This will probably have few victims considering the effect that inflation has had upon Americans’ real wages. The last five quarters have seen a decline in Americans’ real disposable income. This is a compounding and comparative disaster for personal “budgets”.

The battle for the household budget is losing ground for most of us. Everybody is making economic decisions, whether they are doing more with less or more. This is not due to Vladimir Putin. The pandemic is not responsible. This avoidable crisis is solely Joe Biden’s fault.

Twitter was filled with conservatives who enjoyed praising the stupid radicals.

Jayapal underestimated her abilities to manipulate people’s minds, which was unfortunate for Jayapal. No matter what she calls “inflation”, it is hurting ordinary Americans, regardless of whether economists use it or not.