Inflation can be defined as “too many dollars chasing too few goods.” With a US National Debt now at a shameful $37.7 trillion, that’s a lot of dollars created, and the more there are, the less each is worth, and as each dollar is worth less, at some point it may become worthless.
In contrast to many news outlets that conveniently ignore this time bomb, The Roanoke Star has consistently sounded the alarm. At the time of this September 2023 column, the debt was $33 trillion; in January of that year it was 31.4 trillion.
As explained here, Democrat Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner consistently vote for more debt, which threatens our national security and robs you of buying power.
To be fair, both parties have added to the national debt; whether Republicans or Democrats have controlled the White House or Congress, the red ink keeps flowing.
Still, also to be intellectually fair, inflation has gotten far worse since Joe Biden took over the White House in January 2021. Right off the bat, Biden took steps that were designed to make inflation worse and drive prices up.
One example was stopping pipeline construction and oil exploration. Since oil powers most cars and trucks, and since plastics are made from oil, higher prices for the Black Gold set off a chair reaction, where prices for most everything skyrocket.
Inflation is an unfair thief. For the fabulously wealthy like Mark Warner, inflation can actually be a friend, because the value of their assets keep skyrocketing. If a rich man’s ten-million-dollar mansion appreciates ten percent, voila, he’s now sitting in an eleven-million dollar villa, with an extra million added to his bottom line.
But for people who work for a set wage or tips, their income never keeps up with inflation. It’s like an exhausting treadmill where the runner keeps falling further and further behind.
The current economic mess is so bad, it’s spawned a new word in the English language: Biden-flation.
You surely have your own examples, but here are a few recent, real-world stories.
- One of our sons and my wife and I grabbed a quick bite at a McDonald’s in the Atlanta airport last Saturday, where we had layovers from our trip back from Athens, Greece. Granted, airport food is notoriously expensive, but we are talking about McDonald’s. Among the three of us, we had two burgers, two orders of chicken nuggets, two fries, and one coke. (My wife and I had water from the fountain.) Price? $27.
- OK, so let’s take the airport price out of the equation. Monday morning after the thunderstorms came through our region and knocked out electricity for some 46,000 Virginians, including my household, I took coffee orders from family and went to a Roanoke Valley McDonald’s to get a caffeine fix. “McDonald’s has dollar coffees, right?” I thought to myself. As evidence of how seldom I frequent the Golden Arches, I learned the cheapest regular coffee was now $2.19. I ordered two mochas, one latte, and one premium roast, all large. Price? $17.65.
- Over the weekend, to celebrate our safe return home from Southern Europe and to keep the Mediterranean vibe going, six adults and a child went out to lunch at Olive Garden. Note that Olive Garden is a chain of restaurants – not an exclusive restaurant. Our meal included one kid’s meal, six entrees for adults, no appetizers, no alcohol, no dessert, and one or two sweet teas…most of us drank water. Price? $148. With an approximately 18% tip the tab came to over $175. Until not long ago, one hundred dollars was a substantial amount with considerable buying power. Now it barely covers half of a family lunch at Olive Garden.
For those who think subjects like economics, inflation, and government policy are boring topics best avoided, we’re finding out they have real-world consequences, and we ignore them to our peril. It reminds me of the bumper sticker:
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
This crisis is decades in the making and thus there is no quick fix to solve it. Two things you can do this year though, to help, are make sure you vote to fire Joe Biden and his mini-me, Tim Kaine. Since those too are always pushing for more budget-busting spending that drives up inflation and steals your buying power, giving those two the pink slip is one practical step in the right direction.
–Scott Dreyer
Go Deeper: White House admits Bidenflation is “literally” crushing people
