Republicans Have No Plan to Fix Inflation

[Nostra]

Everything you say is wrong. It's that simple. When Biden took office we were in the midst of an out of control pandemic, the nation was closed, people were waiting in lines for boxes of food and you right wing idiots want to pretend America was utopia with streets paved with gold. That's what Biden inherited. Just be glad trump isn't president.

Americans were waiting in line for boxes of food? Gotta link? Inflation was 1.6%, avg gas price was $2.39. Covid was under control and the country was opening back up.

What was this "mess" IM2

 

[BS Filter]

Tax cuts for the rich will fix inflation. That's what republicans typically promise and implement every election cycle. Gee, i wonder how that'll work out this time.

Same old tired propaganda....tax cuts for the rich.....
Honestly, aren't you even a little embarrassed peddling that old tired shit.

 

[IM2]

How many flatscreens did you get?

How many did YOU get accelerationist?

 

[IM2]

You're mentally ill.

No, he's right.

 

[IM2]

Same old tired propaganda....tax cuts for the rich.....
Honestly, aren't you even a little embarrassed peddling that old tired shit.

It's not propaganda. It's what you guys have preached for the last 40 years.

 

[Nostra]

Here is this thread in a nutshell: the moron IM2 finally figured out his Vegetable Messiah is, in fact, a Vegetable who has royally fucked up the country.

Now he is whining and crying for the GOP to come clean up their mess.

 

[Wickerthing]

Pathetic whataboutism and attempted deflection by a moron which doesn’t have the brains of a pigeon and got cut from the 5 year old pee wee league. Now how about addressing what was posted instead of your bullshit about the election and the peaceful protest. Can’t handle your Dear Leader’s failures? Your programming can’t handle it?

Peaceful protest? I don't need to say a word. Indoctrination is self evident and so is stupidity. I think the light is getting ever dimmer in the old Lanternhead.

 

[Wickerthing]

You are wrong. It's that simple. When Biden took office we were in the midst of an out of control pandemic, the nation was closed, people were waiting in lines for boxes of food and you right wing idiots want to pretend America was utopia with streets paved with gold. That's what Biden inherited. Just be glad trump isn't president.

They can't help themselves. When the truth doesn't gel with their indoctrination, they simply make up their own reality. All we can do is to pity them and try to help them to break the spell they have been cast under and hope they have a moment of clarity down the road. Talk about wishful thinking!!

 

[Nostra]

They can't help themselves. When the truth doesn't gel with their indoctrination, they simply make up their own reality. All we can do is to pity them and try to help them to break the spell they have been cast under and hope they have a moment of clarity down the road. Talk about wishful thinking!!

HOW DID THE REAGAN TAX CUTS AFFECT THE U.S. TREASURY?​

Many critics of reducing taxes claim that the Reagan tax cuts drained the U.S. Treasury. The reality is that federal revenues increased significantly between 1980 and 1990:

• Total federal revenues doubled from just over $517 billion in 1980 to more than $1 trillion in 1990. In constant inflation-adjusted dollars, this was a 28 percent increase in revenue.3
• As a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP), federal revenues declined only slightly from 18.9 percent in 1980 to 18 percent in 1990.4
• Revenues from individual income taxes climbed from just over $244 billion in 1980 to nearly $467 billion in 1990.5 In inflation-adjusted dollars, this amounts to a 25 percent increase.

HOW DID REAGAN'S POLICIES AFFECT FEDERAL SPENDING?​

Although critics continue to focus on President Reagan's budget "cuts," federal spending rose significantly during the 1980s:

• Federal spending more than doubled, growing from almost $591 billion in 1980 to $1.25 trillion in 1990. In constant inflation-adjusted dollars, this was an increase of 35.8 percent.6
• As a percentage of GDP, federal expenditures grew slightly from 21.6 percent in 1980 to 21.8 percent in 1990.7
• Contrary to popular myth, while inflation-adjusted defense spending increased by 50 percent between 1980 and 1989, it was curtailed when the Cold War ended and fell by 15 percent between 1989 and 1993. However, means-tested entitlements, which do not include Social Security or Medicare, rose by over 102 percent between 1980 and 1993, and they have continued climbing ever since.8
• Total spending on all national security programs never equaled domestic spending, even when Social Security, Medicare, and net interest are excluded from domestic totals. In addition, national security spending fell during the Administration of the senior President Bush, while domestic spending increased in both mandatory and discretionary accounts.9 (See Chart 1.)

HOW DID REAGAN'S POLICIES AFFECT ECONOMIC GROWTH?​

Despite the steep recession in 1982--brought on by tight money policies that were instituted to squeeze out the historic inflation level of the late 1970s--by 1983, the Reagan policies of reducing taxes, spending, regulation, and inflation were in place. The result was unprecedented economic growth:

• This economic boom lasted 92 months without a recession, from November 1982 to July 1990, the longest period of sustained growth during peacetime and the second-longest period of sustained growth in U.S. history. The growth in the economy lasted more than twice as long as the average period of expansions since World War II.10
• The American economy grew by about one-third in real inflation-adjusted terms. This was the equivalent of adding the entire economy of East and West Germany or two-thirds of Japan's economy to the U.S. economy.11
• From 1950 to 1973, real economic growth in the U.S. economy averaged 3.6 percent per year. From 1973 to 1982, it averaged only 1.6 percent. The Reagan economic boom restored the more usual growth rate as the economy averaged 3.5 percent in real growth from the beginning of 1983 to the end of 1990.12

HOW DID REAGAN'S POLICIES AFFECT THE FEDERAL TAX BURDEN?​

Perhaps the greatest myth concerning the 1980s is that Ronald Reagan slashed taxes so dramatically for the rich that they no longer have paid their fair share. The flaw in this myth is that it mixes tax rates with taxes actually paid and ignores the real trend of taxation:

• In 1991, after the Reagan rate cuts were well in place, the top 1 percent of taxpayers in income paid 25 percent of all income taxes; the top 5 percent paid 43 percent; and the bottom 50 percent paid only 5 percent.13 To suggest that this distribution is unfair because it is too easy on upper-income groups is nothing less than absurd.
• The proportion of total income taxes paid by the top 1 percent rose sharply under President Reagan, from 18 percent in 1981 to 28 percent in 1988.14
• Average effective income tax rates were cut even more for lower-income groups than for higher-income groups. While the average effective tax rate for the top 1 percent fell by 30 percent between 1980 and 1992, and by 35 percent for the top 20 percent of income earners, it fell by 44 percent for the second-highest quintile, 46 percent for the middle quintile, 64 percent for the second-lowest quintile, and 263 percent for the bottom quintile.15
• These reductions for the lowest-income groups were so large because President Reagan doubled the personal exemption, increased the standard deduction, and tripled the earned income tax credit (EITC), which provides net cash for single-parent families with children at the lowest income levels. These changes eliminated income tax liability altogether for over 4 million lower-income families.16

Critics often add in the Social Security payroll tax and argue that the total federal tax burden shifted more to lower-income groups and away from upper-income groups; but President Reagan's changes were in the income tax, not in the Social Security payroll tax. The payroll tax was imposed by proponents of big government over the past 50 years, and it is they, not Ronald Reagan, who should be held accountable for its distributional effects.

Nevertheless, even if one counts the Social Security payroll tax, the share of total federal taxes increased between 1980 and 1989 for the following groups:

• For the top 1 percent of taxpayers, from 12.9 percent in 1980 to 15.4 percent in 1989;
• For the top 5 percent of taxpayers, from 27.3 percent in 1980 to 30.4 percent in 1989; and
• For the top 20 percent of taxpayers, from 56.1 percent in 1980 to 58.6 percent in 1989.

On the other hand, the share of total federal taxes, if one includes the Social Security payroll tax, declined for four groups:

• For the second-highest 20 percent of taxpayers, from 22.2 percent in 1980 to 20.8 percent in 1989;
• For the middle 20 percent of taxpayers, from 13.2 percent in 1980 to 12.5 percent in 1989;
• For the second-lowest 20 percent of taxpayers, from 6.9 percent in 1980 to 6.4 percent in 1989; and
• For the lowest 20 percent of taxpayers, from 1.6 percent in 1980 to 1.5 percent in 1989.17

CONCLUSION​

No matter how advocates of big government try to rewrite history, Ronald Reagan's record of fiscal responsibility continues to stand as the most successful economic policy of the 20th century. His tax reforms triggered an economic expansion that continues to this day. His investments in national security ended the Cold War and made possible the subsequent defense spending reductions that are largely responsible for the current federal surpluses. His efforts to restrain the expansion of federal government helped to limit the growth of domestic spending.

If Reagan's critics had been willing to work with him to limit domestic spending even further and to control the growth of entitlements, the budget would have been balanced five to ten years sooner and without the massive tax increase imposed in 1993. Today, Members of Congress from across the political spectrum should stand on the evidence and defend the Reagan record.

To the extent that President Bush's proposals mirror those of Ronald Reagan, his plan should be a welcome strategy to lower the tax burden on Americans and to make the system more responsible. If the advocates of big government in Congress cooperate with President Bush rather than merely continuing to fund obsolete, wasteful, and redundant programs, there is no limit to the prosperity that Americans can generate.

Peter Sperry is the Grover M. Hermann Fellow in Federal Budgetary Affairs in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

 

[Coyote]

Veggie Joe "inherited a mess"? Inflation was 1.6%, avg gas price was $2.39. Covid was under control and the country was opening back up.

What was this "mess" IM2

Like with Obama…Biden inherited a mess from his predecessor. Fact.

• The worst disease outbreak in over a century and vaccines that as of January 2021, have reached only 4% of the public.
• Unemployment at 6.7%, 10 million people jobless and millions more out of the workforce.
• a surge in murder and violent crime rates (not just in urban areas)
• Federal debt the highest since World War II and an annual deficit running at $2.3 trillion.
• More monthly illegal border crossings from Mexico than there were before Trump took office.

 

[IM2]

Go fuck yourself. People like you are the problem in this country.

No, it's those like you.

 

[kyzr]

Everything you say is wrong. It's that simple. When Biden took office we were in the midst of an out of control pandemic, the nation was closed, people were waiting in lines for boxes of food and you right wing idiots want to pretend America was utopia with streets paved with gold. That's what Biden inherited. Just be glad trump isn't president.

1. Stop lying. the truth shall set you free. Biden took office in 2021, AFTER the pandemic shutdown was OVER.

2. If you want to look at the disasters Xiden and the democrats caused, the list is long and catastrophic:
Everything Xiden, aka “poopy pants” touches turns to shit
How about showering with his daughter Ashley? How fucked-up is that?
The Brits hold him in CONTEMPT for abandoning AFG
The French pulled their ambassador for abandoning AFG
He pissed off the Canadians by killing the KeystoneXL pipeline, that’s 500,000 bbls a day he killed.
Xiden sold us out by approving the Nord Stream 2 pipeline giving Putin cash to modernize his military and invade Ukraine, and his “war on energy” keeps fuel costs high. That's why Xiden is "Putin's Whore".
Hope he enjoys the $3,500,000 the Moscow Mayor's wife sent Hunter
Hope he enjoys the $1,500,000,000 that China gave Hunter to "invest"
Open borders is a catastrophe. Trump had it SOLVED. Now its infected migrants & fentanyl sent all over
Runaway inflation would get worse if the dems pass their "BBB" bill. That will be Solyndra on steroids, not to mention the $200,000,000 for Nancy’s park in San Francisco.
Xiden is ruining the US energy sector with his stupid EOs, he wants Russia to pump more oil?? WTF?
Xiden is so dumb he can't even do fake press conferences to answer "ice cream" questions.
Xiden is a gaffe machine, his brain is defective, and he has the nuclear football, WTF???
Xiden surrendered AFG leaving Americans, $billions of equipment, and interpreters to be slaughtered
Xiden’s DOJ sent the FBI after parents (aka domestic terrorists) who dare to ask questions at school board meetings.
China just passed the US out with their new hypersonic missile.
Stupid Joe wants to pay MIGRANTS $450,000 for breaking US immigration LAWS??????
After promising we would have more than enough Covid testing kits, Joe LIED and FAILED.
Xiden killed Israel’s EastMed gas pipeline to sell gas to the EU, Putin’s whore strikes again.
Xiden killed the development of ANWR, but he’s begging Putin to pump more oil???
Xiden’s “war on energy” is pushing gas and diesel to unaffordable levels, causing “runaway inflation”.
Xiden is letting RUSSIA negotiate the new IRAN agreement???? WTF!!!!!!
Xiden is giving baby formula to migrants when American babies can’t get formula????
I could go on and on, but you see Trump was at least 1,000,000x better as president than stupid Joe

 

[kyzr]

Like with Obama…Biden inherited a mess from his predecessor. Fact.

• The worst disease outbreak in over a century and vaccines that as of January 2021, have reached only 4% of the public.
• Unemployment at 6.7%, 10 million people jobless and millions more out of the workforce.
• a surge in murder and violent crime rates (not just in urban areas)
• Federal debt the highest since World War II and an annual deficit running at $2.3 trillion.
• More monthly illegal border crossings from Mexico than there were before Trump took office.

Lies, Lies, and more lies.
1. The country was open in 2021 when Xiden took office

2. Coming out of the Fau-Chi caused pandemic, unemployment was headed down from 15% to 6% to 4% without Biden doing anything to reduce it.

3. A surge in murder and violent crime? WTF did Trump do to affect the murder rate? We'll see what the 2021 and 2022 crime rates are after the lenient democrat prosecutors keep leaving violent criminals off.

4. Trump's Federal Debt? When the democrats want to waste $trillions on BBB and The Green New Deal? Get real.

5. More border crossings under Trump is a LIE. 2019 and 2020 are the lowest, Xiden's "open Borders" is a disaster

 

[j-mac]

I can’t believe Coyote typed that with a straight face.

 

[Cellblock2429]

We read and hear all the disinformed talking crazy about Biden, but they have no plan to stop inflation. If they had one, they would have presented it to congress. Because if they had one and it worked, they would most certainly assure themselves the majority. Instead it's been about obstruction and the idiocy of Big Money Manchin and Corporate Slave Sinema.

I say they have no plan because spending by trump contributed to the inflation.

Facts First: While some economists say the stimulus packages passed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic are having an impact on inflation, it's misleading to suggest that's the only explanation for the recent rise in inflation. Blaming it exclusively on Democratic spending proposals misrepresents what's actually been passed, and ignores the trillions of dollars in spending passed last year supported by Republicans and signed by then-President Donald Trump which economists say have also contributed to inflation.

Last year, Congress passed two bills totaling around $3 trillion in Covid relief spending -- the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act passed in March 2020, and the $900 billion pandemic relief bill passed in December 2020. Both were signed by Trump and supported by Republicans.

Fact-checking Republican attempts to blame inflation on Democrats

As the US economy gradually recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, prices are rising across the board with inflation exceeding the Federal Reserve's 2% target and reaching a 13-year high in June. Republicans have turned that jump in inflation into a political talking point, trying to place the...

www.cnn.com

And Rick Scotts tax increase for all is not the answer. So the Republican plan is to get the majority and start bogus investigations on Hunter Biden and attempt to impeach Biden, then Harris. If they appoint trump to speaker, understand that is the first move to the attempt to reinstall him as president. Sane Americans cannot continue falling for disinformation. Biden is not the reason that supply chains have been hampered, COVID is. And we were negatively affected by COVID due to the incompetence of a republican president. We cannot afford to have crazies running our government.

/---/ Because you're asking old school Republicans who helped create this mess for a solution. You need to ask Conservatives like Rand Paul for a plan, which you will immediately reject:

Sen. Rand Paul’s plan to balance the budget is a huge step toward fiscal responsibility

On Monday, Paul introduced his "Six Penny Plan," which he says will balance the federal budget within five years. With numerous financial troubles on the horizon, his plan is the legitimate solution our country desperately needs.

"Five years ago, we could balance our budget with a freeze in spending without cutting anything. Since then, our debt has skyrocketed to $30 trillion with $2 trillion just from this past year," the Kentucky Republican said. "We are now in a situation that a simple penny, two, three, or even a five pennies per-dollar reduction is insufficient to balance our budget. It requires six. We cannot keep ignoring this problem at the expense of taxpayers, and my budget will put our nation on track to solve this crisis that Congress created."

 

[Flopper]

Biden drove the United States into being a banana republic in less than 2 years. Just a week ago, Biden declared his economy as "successful." I'm gonna faint. My truck fillup is now $122.00. Last year $45 was my highest fillup. I'm starting to stay home for 3 days, then driving only locally for groceries and repair needs instead of having repairs done by others. I recently got a higher bill for electricity of any monthly price in 50 years, and the weather was reasonable before the drought started. So it's no porchlight in the dark, turning lights out when leaving any room, unplugging tv and computer at nights, Cooling bedrooms only at night. All it does is keep electricity close to last year's prices.

Republicans cheered as the ban on Russian oil was passed in congress but jeered Biden because gas prices went up. Were they so naïve to believe eliminating millions of barrels a day of Russia oil from the market would not send gasolines prices through the roof? Republicans knew exactly what would happen at the pump when they sponsored the bill and gave democrats the majority they needed to pass it.

 

[kaz]

We read and hear all the disinformed talking crazy about Biden, but they have no plan to stop inflation. If they had one, they would have presented it to congress. Because if they had one and it worked, they would most certainly assure themselves the majority. Instead it's been about obstruction and the idiocy of Big Money Manchin and Corporate Slave Sinema.

I say they have no plan because spending by trump contributed to the inflation.

Facts First: While some economists say the stimulus packages passed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic are having an impact on inflation, it's misleading to suggest that's the only explanation for the recent rise in inflation. Blaming it exclusively on Democratic spending proposals misrepresents what's actually been passed, and ignores the trillions of dollars in spending passed last year supported by Republicans and signed by then-President Donald Trump which economists say have also contributed to inflation.

Last year, Congress passed two bills totaling around $3 trillion in Covid relief spending -- the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act passed in March 2020, and the $900 billion pandemic relief bill passed in December 2020. Both were signed by Trump and supported by Republicans.

Fact-checking Republican attempts to blame inflation on Democrats

As the US economy gradually recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, prices are rising across the board with inflation exceeding the Federal Reserve's 2% target and reaching a 13-year high in June. Republicans have turned that jump in inflation into a political talking point, trying to place the...

www.cnn.com

And Rick Scotts tax increase for all is not the answer. So the Republican plan is to get the majority and start bogus investigations on Hunter Biden and attempt to impeach Biden, then Harris. If they appoint trump to speaker, understand that is the first move to the attempt to reinstall him as president. Sane Americans cannot continue falling for disinformation. Biden is not the reason that supply chains have been hampered, COVID is. And we were negatively affected by COVID due to the incompetence of a republican president. We cannot afford to have crazies running our government.

The Republicans need to impeach Biden over and over. At least 5 times before 2024. Democrats already made impeachment a joke. But as long as they are the only one doing it, it's still a weapon for them. Impeach Biden, impeach Biden now, impeach Biden repeatedly ...

 

[kaz]

Republicans cheered as the ban on Russian oil was passed in congress but jeered Biden because gas prices went up. Were they so naïve to believe eliminating millions of barrels a day of Russia oil from the market would not send gasolines prices through the roof? Republicans knew exactly what would happen at the pump when they sponsored the bill and gave democrats the majority they needed to pass it.

My God you're stupid. We want to drill IN THE UNITED STATES you brainless boob. How do you POSSIBLY not know that? How many fucking times were you dropped on your head as a baby anyway, moron?

 

[Flopper]

Inflation is global fool. And Biden inherited a mess. I am the OP and the topic to be addressed is the fact republicans are talking shit but they have no plan because they know this situation is not something a president can stop. But they expect enough people to not inform themselves and fall for their bs. Wickerthing is right on point.

Thanks for adding a bit of real truth to this thread that had degenerated into a political quagmire. The fact is neither Biden nor any president can do much to stop inflation. Government spending certainly increases the money supply which is inflationary. However, the Fed has the tools to control that expansion which unfortunately did not happen.

When Trump took office, GDP growth had been running 1.5% to 2%. Hoping to delivery on campaign promises, he appointed Powell Chairman of Federal Reserve because he new he would lower interest rates which he did, 2.5% to .25% which where the rates were up till about 4 months ago.

The biggest mistake Biden made in regard to inflation was nominating Trump's fed chairman who was quick to cut interest rates and slow to increase them. Anyone that knows anything about economics could see that by summer of 2021 inflation was getting out of control as the demand for goods and services were rising rapidly. Yet Powell kept the federate rate at .25% till inflation had reached nearly 7% in 2022.

The most powerful tool a president has to fight inflation is appointment of the Chairman and governors of the Federal Reserve because the FED controls the money supply and money determines how fast the economy can expand.

United States Fed Funds Interest Rate

The benchmark interest rate in the United States was last recorded at 5.50 percent. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Fed Funds Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus...

tradingeconomics.com

United States Inflation Rate

Inflation Rate in the United States decreased to 3.40 percent in April from 3.50 percent in March of 2024. This page provides - United States Inflation Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

tradingeconomics.com

 

[IM2]

Thanks for adding a bit of real truth to this thread that had degenerated into a political quagmire. The fact is neither Biden nor any president can do much to stop inflation. Government spending certainly increases the money supply which is inflationary. However, the Fed has the tools to control that expansion which unfortunately did not happen.

When Trump took office, GDP growth had been running 1.5% to 2%. Hoping to delivery on campaign promises, he appointed Powell Chairman of Federal Reserve because he new he would lower interest rates which he did, 2.5% to .25% which where the rates were up till about 4 months ago.

The biggest mistake Biden made in regard to inflation was nominating Trump's fed chairman who was quick to cut interest rates and slow to increase them. Anyone that knows anything about economics could see that by summer of 2021 inflation was getting out of control as the demand for goods and services were rising rapidly. Yet Powell kept the federate rate at .25% till inflation had reached nearly 7% in 2022.

The most powerful tool a president has to fight inflation is appointment of the Chairman and governors of the Federal Reserve because the FED controls the money supply and money determines how fast the economy can expand.

Amen. Well said. Thanks.