Shrinking paychecks. Empty grocery stores. Record high gasoline prices. President Biden’s economy isn’t working for American families, and now they are getting crushed by inflation Democrats could have prevented by not pushing forward harmful spending.
We all know we can’t just make inflation go away – but make no mistake, continuing this Administration’s policies will make Americans’ suffering worse.
Below are steps we can take that could help reduce the current skyrocketing Biden-flation.
- Repurpose Hundreds of Billions of Unspent Past Emergency COVID Funding to Address Today’s Inflation Emergency and Shrink the Deficit: Too many workers are stuck at home or watching their paychecks shrink thanks to Washington Democrats’ $2 trillion partisan so-called “stimulus” that discouraged work and fueled inflation. While exact estimates are unavailable, there is about $170 billion in American Rescue Plan money from 2021 still not obligated. There is at least that much in other COVID accounts from previous laws Congress passed that has not been obligated.
SOLUTION: Now that the emergency is over the emergency spending should end. End Democrats’ wasteful COVID slushfunds that discouraged work, paid for golf course maintenance, and bailed out local governments and repurpose hundreds of billions of that money towards reducing the deficit and killing inflation.
- Stop Threatening Crippling Tax Hikes: American workers got better jobs and historically higher wages after Republican tax reform unleashed the lowest unemployment in 50 years. Democrats want to repeal tax reform,pursuing crippling tax hikes that kill jobs and to expand welfare-without-work policies that worsen inflation.
SOLUTION: Strengthen Americans’ wallets by taking tax increases off the Washington agenda, instead pursuing permanent tax relief for individuals and families, and supercharging the economy by making it easier for companies to invest in the American economy.
- Fill Americans’ Shopping Carts While Selling American Worldwide: Americans shouldn’t be walking down empty grocery store aisles worried they can’t afford to take care of their families. President Biden’s de facto trade moratorium limits our ability to sell abroad and reduces Americans’ access to goods they want. Limiting the supply of goods and new supply chains increases inflation.
SOLUTION: Renew longstanding trade programs that reduce the cost of imported products and benefit American jobs so families and small businesses can get what they need. Build on the success of a new modernized trade agreement for North America by negotiating better ones elsewhere, tearing down the walls that not only prevent Americans from getting what they need, but also make it harder for them to sell American-made goods abroad.
- Filling Up Your Tank Shouldn’t Empty Your Wallet: Prices at the gas station keep climbing because President Biden has waged war on American-made energy, and it will get even worse with Democrats’ plan for $145 billion in tax increases on energy.
SOLUTION: There’s no reason Americans should be paying so much at the pump. Unleash American energy production so it’s not only more affordable, but also so we can export it around the world.
- Local Businesses, Cutting Edge Technology, and Life-Saving Cures Are Being Strangled by Red Tape: What do Main Street businesses, innovators for health, and leading entrepreneurs all have in common? Too much red tape that increase costs and has Washington bureaucrats slowing down their ability to deliver products Americans need. According to an American Action Forum study released in January 2021, the cost of President Biden’s regulatory agenda for his first year in office far outpaces most previous presidents, chalking up more than three times the costs of Obama’s first year and nearly 40 times those of the Trump Administration. The sum total of these regulations all raise prices for consumers.
SOLUTION: Cut the unnecessary red tape and review regulations for the impact they have on prices – struggling families deserve to know how much Washington is raising their bills.
- Getting Americans Working Again Will Get Prices Lower: President Biden paid people more to stay at home than work, and now there are nearly two job openings for every worker who is looking for a job. Main Street businesses are facing higher labor costs, which they are forced to pass on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
SOLUTION: Get Americans working again. End Democrats’ special subsidies that give people health care that’s as good as what they would get at work. And seniors shouldn’t be punished for continuing to work if they want to. Provide greater flexibility so seniors don’t stay out of the workforce because additional earnings reduce their Social Security benefits.