By Jason Smith, member of Congress
Since President Biden took the oath of office, Washington Democrats have embarked on a massive spending spree that has driven up government spending by an additional $9 trillion. That is more than the federal government spent in its first 195 years combined! That explosion of reckless spending is sabotaging America’s economy. Inflation is up 13.8% since Biden took office. Interest rates are skyrocketing. On Thursday, a government analysis confirmed that the economy shrunk in the 2nd quarter by 0.9% – the second straight quarter our economy has declined.
Every time over the last 75 years that our economy has had negative growth two straight quarters, our nation has been in a recession. Up until this week, economists broadly agreed that two straight quarters of negative growth were an indicator that our country is in a recession. But every institution seems to be in a race to see who can beclown itself the most and carry water for Washington Democrats these days. Corporate media analysts who in the past have been quick to declare recessions under Republican presidents suddenly were arguing that this situation was “nuanced” or deserved “careful analysis.” Editors for sites like Wikipedia – a popular online encyclopedia – literally changed the definition of a recession on its page. The administration itself was out arguing in full force that we are not in a recession and are instead in a recovery.
Really? No wonder the public has such massive distrust in so-called “experts” or in the mainstream media. Nothing could be more out-of-touch with working families than calling the recession that is making life harder a “recovery.” On top of paying an extra $5,900 this year because of Biden’s inflation crisis, Americans are now having to live in fear that they will see their paychecks cut or their jobs eliminated because of the Biden recession. Gas prices are nearly 80% higher than they were when this administration took office.
Last week, the Federal Reserve once again hiked interest rates to deal with the inflation crisis created by this administration and Washington Democrats. With higher interest rates, even more families will be locked out of buying a new home – the cornerstone of the American Dream. The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has doubled since Biden took office. Small businesses are finding it more expensive to finance new equipment or expand into larger facilities that grow the economy, create jobs, and boost paychecks. Three of the last four months saw payrolls shrink for businesses with less than 50 employees.
This is a terrifying time for families. During the last recession, America lost 9 million jobs and 10 million people fell into poverty, including 3 million children.
But not even a recession or spiraling interest rates will stop Washington Democrats from continuing their reckless tax and spend spree that has caused a 40-year high in inflation. Just this week, Washington Democrats have tried to pass three different bills that would spend $700 billion, $600 billion, and $280 billion respectively. $1.5 trillion of fuel for the inflation fire that they started. That’s not to mention that they revived a horrific proposal to double the size of the IRS and send bureaucrats out across America to make it harder to operate a small business or a family farm. All told, they are trying to add hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes on hardworking families. Only in Washington would politicians try to spend their way out of inflation and tax their way out of recession!
And let’s be clear: the responsibility for this inflation recession lies squarely with Biden and Washington Democrats. One-party rule by Washington Democrats has spelled disaster for the working class. Last year, despite warnings by Republicans, top economists, and former Obama administration officials, they made the reckless decision to pump trillions of dollars into an economy that the Congressional Budget Office projected was already on its way to recovery.
The American people are fed up with this tone-deaf approach to addressing our economic crises. They want to stop the spending, stop the taxes, stop the lockdowns, and get things like baby formula back on our supermarket shelves. Baby formula! It’s unacceptable that this administration has been negligent and refused to address the crises affecting families, and I will fight every day to stop these crazy policies.