ADVERTISEMENT

Opinion Psst: Republicans don’t have a plan to fight inflation, either

cigaretteman

HR King
May 29, 2001
77,113
58,286
113
By Catherine Rampell
Columnist |
May 19, 2022 at 5:22 p.m. EDT

Psst: Republicans don’t have a plan to fight inflation, either.
Some of my recent columns have criticized Democrats’ approach to inflation, both their reluctance to take steps that could be modestly helpful (repealing tariffs, accelerating legal immigration applications); and their flirtation with policies that could be actively harmful (such as price controls or measures that would discourage companies from increasing production).
Sign up for a weekly roundup of thought-provoking ideas and debates
Some people have, quite reasonably, asked: What then do you think of Republicans’ plans for reducing prices?
Unfortunately, hard to say. Because they don’t exist.
Republicans have expended lots of energy and ad buys blaming Democrats for inflation. And it’s true that fiscal (and monetary) policy has helped run the economy “hot.” There have been some happy consequences from these choices: President Biden’s stimulus bill in March 2021 likely helped reduce unemployment much faster than predicted, which prevented some of the long-term “scarring” workers experienced after the Great Recession.
But there have been trade-offs. By juicing demand at a time when supply chains remained snarled by covid-19, government stimulus likely pushed inflation a little higher.
Catherine Rampell: Democrats need more tough love on their misguided economic policies
This isn’t the only factor driving inflation; other countries are also facing high price growth, and they didn’t pass Biden’s American Rescue Plan. Rather, they’re facing the same supply-side constraints we are. A series of supply shocks in recent months, such as the war in Ukraine, has also made global inflationary pressures worse, particularly for energy and food.


 
To Republicans, however, this nuanced story has been collapsed into a single damning word: “Bidenflation.”
It’s politically effective, if not quite accurate. Voters always blame incumbents for broad macroeconomic conditions, even when policymakers have little control over them.
So what have Republicans proposed to do instead of the Biden agenda? As I’ve noted before, pretty much bupkis.
Catherine Rampell: Both parties neglect to propose a solution that might actually lower gas prices
They’ve ranted about how much they hate Democrats’ supposed socialism. They’ve talked about what they won’t do — such as pass Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, which Republicans argue would make inflation worse. (Biden has sometimes argued that this agenda would reduce inflation. My own view: It would likely have a negligible effect on inflation either way, and measures such as universal pre-K or climate investments should be judged on their own merits.)
Republicans have tossed out some red herrings, such as increasing oil production by “reopening” the Keystone XL pipeline. Alas, this pipeline extension does not yet exist so it cannot be “reopened,” nor even opened anytime soon. It was only 8 percent constructed when Biden revoked the U.S.-side permit last year, despite years of development and support from his predecessor.
Similarly, Republicans repeat the mantra “energy independence,” but it’s not clear what they mean by that or how they propose to achieve it.
Their inflation plans are hardly the only policies that Republicans have declined to flesh out.
During the 2020 campaign, the GOP released no platform, just a blank-check pledge to support whatever President Donald Trump desired. This past January, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was asked what his party would do if it regained control of Congress.
“That is a very good question,” he replied. “And I’ll let you know when we take it back.”
Maybe Republicans genuinely don’t know what they’d do if back in power. Or maybe they’ve realized that their economic policies, if you take their rhetoric literally, would be unpopular.
Their proposals include, for example, requiring every American to pay something in federal income taxes, as National Republican Senatorial Committee head Rick Scott (Fla.) has proposed. Rooted in Republicans’ “makers vs. takers” mythology, this might sound unobjectionable, until you realize it means raising taxes on roughly half of Americans. (Other Republicans, including McConnell, have distanced themselves from Scott’s plan, and Scott himself walked it back.)
Catherine Rampell: Democrats are working through the five stages of inflation grief
Presumably, McConnell and other Republicans have not offered concrete proposals because they’d rather the midterms serve as a referendum on the Democrats. Better to leave the GOP challengers as a blank slate onto which voters can project their own hopes and dreams (on inflation or anything else).
And so, even though inflation should offer ample material for selling the public on their superior economic policies, ambitious Republican politicians are instead fighting with Mickey Mouse. Or punishing immigrant children. Or complaining about fancy ice creams and Peloton. Or otherwise waging culture wars.
Catherine Rampell: Republicans found something they love even more than tax cuts
But culture wars don’t reduce prices. They don’t stock shelves. They sometimes worsen supply-chain problems, as when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) recently slowed down border traffic in an effort to own the libs.
It’s not fair, but Republicans get away without offering a plan because they’re not in charge. Democrats control the House, Senate and White House. The public thinks presidents and lawmakers have more sway over the economy than they actually do, and that’s frustrating, but them’s the breaks.
Democrats should still do everything within their (limited) power to curb inflation — and not wait for voters to realize, after the midterms, how little thought Republicans have put into fixing the problem.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Hondo_11
This guy thinks we’re all as stupid as he is. Not going to work. Biggest failure in my lifetime AINEC.
 
Republicans always want to cut taxes for the wealthiest Mericans.

A part of the reason for the mess we're facing. That and Turd forcing the Feds to lower interest rates when that wasn't necessary.

The GOP doesn't have a plan unless you call undermining everything Biden has tried to do a "plan".
 
It really is amazing to see so many articles written by the establishment media that basically centers around the premise of, "How dare you blame Biden for all of America's issues." It really is something.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ihhawk
Republicans always want to cut taxes for the wealthiest Mericans.

A part of the reason for the mess we're facing. That and Turd forcing the Feds to lower interest rates when that wasn't necessary.

The GOP doesn't have a plan unless you call undermining everything Biden has tried to do a "plan".
Wow. I guess you have a very selective memory. Google the fed hikes under Trump
 
It really is amazing to see so many articles written by the establishment media that basically centers around the premise of, "How dare you blame Biden for all of America's issues." It really is something.
They elect a vegetable and then wonder why things turn to shit
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT