INFLATION: Who Do You Blame?

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Many of the choices overlap, so pick all you want to get the mix you think best reflects the major actors in our current inflation problems.

Feel free to mention other specific bad actors or bad policies in your comments.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

It's complicated

Presidents get the "blame" whether deserved or not. Just comes with the territory.

The administration certainly has taken "credit" when inflation came down from it's 9% peak. When it bumps get back up they get the "blame".

It is what it is.

 

[prlyles]

Inflation is worldwide. The US is doing better than most countries

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

It's complicated

Presidents get the "blame" whether deserved or not. Just comes with the territory.

But we can be smarter than that in this poll.

 

[hawkjt]

Inflation is worldwide. The US is doing better than most countries

If it was limited to the US then maybe blame could be assigned with some accuracy.
Blame the pandemic.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

But we can be smarter than that in this poll.

Add "market forces" as an option and your poll would be smarter.

The definition of market forces is that it is the economic factors that influence the price and quantity of goods and services in a market. Examples of market forces are competition, consumer preferences, technological advancements, economic growth, and government regulations.

What Are Market Forces? Types and Examples

What are market forces? Learn more about the factors that influence supply and demand of goods and services in a market.

capital.com

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

If it was limited to the US then maybe blame could be assigned with some accuracy.
Blame the pandemic.

Clearly the pandemic and the initial response to it was a big factor - but what about now? The Ukraine war was and still is another.

 

[BrunoMars420]

This was an act of god

 

[Hawk_4shur]

I blame economics. When demand exceed supply you get inflation.

The Fed raises interest rates to "cool" the demand side, but it seems to me that is also cools the supply side. It's more difficult to expand the supply side with high interest rates.

Covid started this mess. Demand for goods recovered more quickly that the supply - the global supply chain was overwhelmed. I don't know if that has been corrected or if it's still overwhelmed.

There's not a lot the government can do, no matter who is in charge.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Add "market forces" as an option and your poll would be smarter.

True, in a sense, but that can mean anything. I sometimes have to remind my con friends that the market always works. But it doesn't necessarily work well, or the way you want it to.

In 2008-9 we decided to play the stimulus card to avert a global depression of our own making. We underfunded it and leaned on the Fed to make up the difference. Which it did with QE3 - resulting in a slow, unsatisfying recovery, but no crash.

With the pandemic we also decided to play the stimulus card to combat a crisis that was not of our own making, and we didn't make the mistake of underfunding it. Some even think we overdid it. But we averted much of the worst economic consequences - at the price of inflation.

When Americans were dying at a clip of 2-3000 daily, that tradeoff was acceptable. It no longer seems that way - especially among those who have been drinking the revisionist Kool Aid about the seriousness of the pandemic and the need for masks, vaccines, etc.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Interesting that we have no votes for Biden and Trump, so far. That makes sense to me. I do blame each of them somewhat, for different reasons, but individually they aren't the major actors.

 

[Hawki97]

I’m busy checking a lot of boxes because I had to cover the totality of the government, ruthlessly exploitive corporations always seeking to squeeze every penny, and the last box because the greedy, financially stupid American consumer isn’t on the list. There’s even more to it but these are my highlights.

 

[IAFB2021Champs]

 

[nelly02]

Clearly the pandemic and the initial response to it was a big factor - but what about now? The Ukraine war was and still is another.

This was what caused it and corporate greed to not adjust prices back down once it cooled is why it is still an issue.

 

[Scruddy]

Joe biden and the democrats are 90% to blame. Trump/corporate greed get 10%.

 

[seminole97]

Many of the choices overlap, so pick all you want to get the mix you think best reflects the major actors in our current inflation problems.

Feel free to mention other specific bad actors or bad policies in your comments.

Remove the Federal Reserve and the federal government’s borrowing

A) gets priced with an honest interest rate

B) can only be funded by actual savings, not money printing which regressively seizes purchasing power from the users of US dollars.

High government borrowing would just come with a high price tag, it wouldn’t increase all other prices like inflating the money supply to buy the debt does.

MMT wherever implemented leads to the predictable results. The lesson isn’t new.

“Paper money has had the effect in your State that it ever will have, to ruin commerce—oppress the honest, and open a door to every species of fraud and injustice.” - George Washington

 

[Tom Paris]

Prices have gone up my entire life. My parents' lives. "I remember when candy bars were a nickel." I remember 25 cents. Things constantly go up and right now, a lot of it is corporations making record profits by raising prices trying to hide that within inflation. Assholes.

 

[seminole97]

Prices have gone up my entire life. My parents' lives. "I remember when candy bars were a nickel." I remember 25 cents. Things constantly go up and right now, a lot of it is corporations making record profits by raising prices trying to hide that within inflation. Assholes.

Read about what happened in 1971.
It was consequential.

 

[Rifler]

Pandemic, Ukraine, Biden spending,.. in that order.

 

[TennNole17]

I blame @binsfeldcyhawk2 - according to many here he's the problem because he "won't get off the fence".

**apparently the fence is where you don't suck off either party

 

[ericram]

Pandemic, Ukraine, Biden spending,.. in that order.

So the biff administration didn't spend? You might have missed how much he did.

 

[Rifler]

So the biff administration didn't spend? You might have missed how much he did.

Biden has surpassed his predecessor in that regard,.. and doing all this excessive spending on the tail end of the pandemic demonstrates his incredibly bad judgement..

 

[Funky Bunch]

Taylor Swift

 

[ericram]

Biden has surpassed his predecessor in that regard,.. and doing all this excessive spending on the tail end of the pandemic demonstrates his incredibly bad judgement..

Show me a comparison

 

[Hawk_4shur]

Interesting that we have no votes for Biden and Trump, so far. That makes sense to me. I do blame each of them somewhat, for different reasons, but individually they aren't the major actors.

Curious as to what actions they took to cause inflation.

Is it the stimulus? Are you talking about the payments the government made to individuals and businesses? Or the Treasury note purchases made by the Fed?

If it's the former, I don't really agree. I don't think it was enough money to impact global inflation.

If it's the latter, I neither agree nor disagree - I simply don't understand.

 

[noleclone2]

I think Covid and labor / supply chain issues are the real culprit with some corporate profiteering sprinkled ontop. Don’t really blame Republicans or Democrats for it. Do think we have done good job on rates and not lowering them too quick as tempting as may be.

 

[IAFB2021Champs]

I think Covid and labor / supply chain issues are the real culprit with some corporate profiteering sprinkled ontop. Don’t really blame Republicans or Democrats for it. Do think we have done good job on rates and not lowering them too quick as tempting as may be.

I’ve seen a few blame Covid, do we all believe Covid was just something that happened on its own or was it possible one of the options listed was behind Covid?
I never believed Covid was as bad as what the media and politicians wanted you to believe while it was going on and continue to believe that today.
Therefor I don’t believe Covid just happened, someone or something was behind it in some sort of way so they could profit off the shortage of supplies or high prices of everything as a result of people staying home and sheltering.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Remove the Federal Reserve and the federal government’s borrowing

A) gets priced with an honest interest rate

B) can only be funded by actual savings, not money printing which regressively seizes purchasing power from the users of US dollars.

High government borrowing would just come with a high price tag, it wouldn’t increase all other prices like inflating the money supply to buy the debt does.

MMT wherever implemented leads to the predictable results. The lesson isn’t new.

“Paper money has had the effect in your State that it ever will have, to ruin commerce—oppress the honest, and open a door to every species of fraud and injustice.” - George Washington

Always good to be reminded how nutty free market zealots sound when they get rolling.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Read about what happened in 1971.

Why don't you tell us.

No doubt you are talking about when All In the Family aired.

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

I think there are a lot of different factors here but I think the fed bears most of the blame.

They could see the exploding money supply and chose to keep interest rates low despite the exploding money supply.

 

[seminole97]

Always good to be reminded how nutty free market zealots sound when they get rolling.

Do you think counterfeiting money is bad?
Why, or why not?

 

[seminole97]

Why don't you tell us.

No doubt you are talking about when All In the Family aired.

Answer my question first.
It’s hard to know where to start when I don’t know what you understand.

 

[MitchLL]

View embedded media

Joe biden and the democrats are 90% to blame. Trump/corporate greed get 10%.

Wouldn't have expected anything else from you!

 

[Huey Grey]

No surprise the option that is getting the most blame in this poll.

 

[LuciousBDragon]

I blame Democratic led fear-mongering during the pandemic which triggered trillions of stimulus and this inflated the money supply. That, and it was difficult to spend money on certain things during the pandemic (travel, entertainment, etc) so Americans’ pocketbooks fattened up. Capital was already cheap pre-pandemic and became cheaper during it. Everyone knew there was a) pent up spending demand and b) fatter reserves sitting with business and citizens coming out of the pandemic.

Demand was high, supplies were low, and we had more spending power than ever = inflation.

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

Show me a comparison

Seriously?

 

[ericram]

Seriously?

Yes!

 

[luvmyhawks]

No surprise the option that is getting the most blame in this poll.

Why would it surprise you when most of you get your talking points from the same place?

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

Yes!

Bro that would take you less than 30 seconds to go find on your own. Biden blew it out of the water. As a matter of fact, if @BlackNGoldBleeder ever comes back he owes me a beer.

 

[ericram]

Bro that would take you less than 30 seconds to go find on your own. Biden blew it out of the water. As a matter of fact, if @BlackNGoldBleeder ever comes back he owes me a beer.

So you have no facts to suppose this. Got it.