By REP. VICTORIA SPARTZ
Representing You
There’s always a lot of noise and drama in Washington. But people in Washington seldom talk about what’s really hurting Americans. Right now, what’s hurting Americans the most is inflation.
Inflation is like a hand around the necks of Hoosiers, making it impossible for many young people to save to buy a home or start a business, preventing families from saving for their children’s college education, and bringing real hardship to many people, including retirees who depend on Social Security, some of whom can’t afford to buy food or medicine at their local store. This is in addition to the thousands of Hoosiers who can hardly afford the gas they need to get to work and back.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen insisted last year that inflation would be “transitory”, and President Biden said last summer that price hikes would be temporary.
Neither of these things were true.
Inflation is now the highest it’s been since December of 1981, after four years of Jimmy Carter and before President Ronald Reagan’s reforms took effect.
Inflation is a highly regressive tax, hitting low-income Americans the hardest.
We know what is causing inflation: the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that flooded our existing money supply, the ongoing supply chain crisis, and burdensome regulations on business.
Members of Congress and the Biden administration must come together for the good of the nation to develop feasible energy policies, address supply chain dependence on China, eliminate burdensome regulations and tariffs, and assure a stable legal and tax environment essential for domestic investments.
Playing politics with people’s lives should not be an option.
Victoria Spartz serves as the Republican Congresswoman for Indiana’s Fifth District.