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Wage-Price Spiral Hammers Workers and Small Businesses, Ends in Recession

April 13, 2022 — Blog    — Press Releases    — Select Revenue Measures    — Work and Welfare   

Prices are growing three times faster than Americans’ paychecks, and are hammering small businesses struggling to find workers, said Republican Leader of the Ways and Means Committee Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) on The National Desk, warning that a wage-price spiral is pushing  the economy towards a recession.

 

CLICK HERE to watch the full interview.

 

Rep. Brady warned that inflation is a crisis for families, with the economy teetering on the brink of a recession:

 

“Prices right now are growing three times faster than paychecks. For an average family in America, it means you’ve lost ground by about $5,700 over the last year, which is why most Americans feel like they’re financially worse off now than they were during the height of the COVID pandemic. Not a good sign.

 

“We also got bad news from small businesses yesterday. Their optimism is at the lowest ever recorded. And for maybe the same reason – inflation is just hammering them and they can’t find workers.

 

“We are in the middle of a wage-price spiral, which no country wants to be in, because the only way to end it is through a recession.”

 

READ: Brady: With Inflation Raging and Getting Worse, When Will President Biden Admit We Are In a Dangerous Wage-Price Spiral?

 

The White House’s policy of denial has not worked:

 

“My frustration has been that I don’t think President Biden or the Federal Reserve admitted how strong and how high inflation was last year. They were also in denial about the labor shortage, which has driven so much of our inflation. 

 

“Right now, they’re doing the same thing on this wage-price spiral. Denial hasn’t worked out well for the White House on the economy. The President needs to step up, admit really where we’re at, and take decisive action.”

 

READ: Bidenflation Tax is Wiping Out Tax Reform’s Gains

 

On what can be done to address inflation, Rep. Brady urged the Biden Administration announce a freeze of federal spending, among other measures:

 

“The solutions are: stop making it worse. Freeze federal spending beyond defense. End the COVID-era programs that have driven so much of the inflation. Step back from the Build Back Better efforts because those will not only drive up prices on families but also [include] tax increases that hammer our Main Street businesses. 

 

“Step away from the policies that are driving this inflation would be the best advice for the President and for Congress.”

 

READ: Biden Budget Repeats Inflation-Causing Mistakes of COVID-Era Stimulus