'Biden's Policies Making Life Worse': Republicans Bash Biden Over Record-High Inflation
09:19 GMT, 11 November 2021
Earlier this week, a CNN poll showed that 58% of Americans believe US President Joe Biden has not paid enough attention to the nation's most important problems, and 52% of them disapprove of the job he's doing as president.
SputnikRepublicans have hit out at
President Joe Biden over his handling of the economy following the latest report by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, which revealed that the country’s inflation reached its highest level in three decades last month.
The survey's jaw-dropping figures of inflation rising by 6.2 percent in October compared to the same period in 2020 provoked flak from GOP members and some Democrats.
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel pointed the finger at the government's economic policies for ever-increasing prices for consumers and producers.
"American families are facing record-setting costs for everyday goods, from gas to groceries, yet Joe Biden continues to push for trillions of dollars in wasteful spending and the largest tax hike in decades", she said.
The RNC head was apparently making a thinly-veiled reference to the president's $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and $1.75 trillion reconciliation package, also known as the "Build Back Better" agenda, which are yet to be signed into law by POTUS.
"Forcing unconstitutional mandates on workers and small businesses, giving tax cuts to the rich, and asking hardworking Americans to foot the bill for a socialist wish list prove just how out-of-touch Biden and [the] Democrats are with reality. In Biden's America, your paycheck is worth less and you owe the government more", McDaniel claimed.
She was echoed by Stephen Moore, a former economic adviser to Donald Trump and co-founder of the non-profit organisation Committee to Unleash Prosperity, who described the US Bureau of Labour Statistics report as "evidence that President Biden's policies are making life worse, not better for working class Americans".
"And, full-fledged Bidenonomics through his Build Back Better plan will only make inflation even worse by spending, borrowing trillions more dollars we don't have", Moore alleged.
He said that in the interests of American workers, consumers, and taxpayers, Biden along with White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, and "the socialist Democrats should cancel their tax and spending monstrosity bill".
8 November 2021, 03:12 GMT
According to Moore, "inflation is not 'transitory' nor is it just 'high-class problems'; it hurts all Americans, especially the poor and middle class".
The view was shared by top Trump White House economist Larry Kudlow, who slammed Biden's response to inflation, arguing that the president's adherence to moving away from the use of fossil fuels is in part to blame.
"They don't even want to take it seriously. If you have an imbalance of supply and demand […] then you increase supply. America is the largest producer of energy in the world if the administration would let America produce, OK? That includes oil, that includes natural gas. Heck, it even includes coal", Kudlow said in an interview with Fox News.
He urged the Biden administration "to stop closing pipelines in Michigan, the [Keystone] XL pipeline", and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
"We're 2 million barrels short. Eighteen months ago, 20 months ago, we were generating 13 million barrels of oil per day. During the pandemic it fell to 11 and it hasn't recovered yet because of the Biden policies that are suppressing, regulating, taxing, and imposing fees", Kudlow stressed.
Democratic Senator Manchin Warns of Record-High Inflation
Supporting Republicans' concerns was
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), who has repeatedly opposed the $1.2 trillion and the $1.75 trillion bills and who's now warned of far-reaching repercussions from inflation in the US.
"By all accounts, the threat posed by record inflation to the American people is not 'transitory' and is instead getting worse. From the grocery store to the gas pump, Americans know the inflation tax is real and DC can no longer ignore the economic pain Americans feel every day", Manchin asserted.
The remarks follow Biden admitting on Wednesday that the new inflation statistics are proof that there is "more work to do before our [US] economy is back to normal".
"Inflation hurts Americans' pocketbooks, and reversing this trend is a top priority for me", the president said, also reiterating his calls to Congress to pass the "Build Back Better" plan.
He spoke after the White House said that Biden would have a ceremony early next week to sign the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that recently cleared Congress.
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labour Statistics said that consumer prices in the US soared by 6.2% from the same time period one year ago, the highest monthly increase since the administration of George H.W. Bush three decades ago.
10 November 2021, 21:16 GMT
According to the study, inflation rates have been steadily increasing since April, coupled with growing supply chain and labour shortages.
In mid-July, Biden argued that the high inflation in the US is acceptable because it is perceived as being temporary, but warned the economy could face severe complications if the inflation trend persists.
"I want to be clear that my administration understands that if we were to ever experience unchecked inflation over the long term, that would pose a real challenge to our economy", he acknowledged.