Keystone Today

The state of Pennsylvania is preparing to issue stimulus checks to residents, and Tommy Pigott, rapid response director for RNC Research, took to Twitter to point out that ever since Biden released COVID-relief stimulus checks in March 2021 amounting to nearly $2 trillion, Americans' year-over-year real wage growth has been negative. 

"Joe Biden is the pay cut president. Year-over-year real wage growth – your paycheck accounting for inflation – has been negative EVERY SINGLE MONTH since Biden passed his $1.9T 'stimulus.' By contrast, real wages were only negative one month during Trump’s entire 4-year term," Pigott wrote in a July 11 Twitter post. 

As American families and businesses were compensated with stimulus checks during the pandemic, there's proof that this move was one of inflation's contributing factors. 

A Statista report from mid-June says that inflation has been outpacing nominal wage growth for 14 consecutive months, meaning Americans can afford less than they could a year ago, despite wages rising on paper. 

The latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report shows that real average hourly earnings decreased 3.6%, seasonally adjusted, from June 2021 to June 2022, and decreased 1% from May to June.

A combination of low-interest rates, COVID-related supply constraints and heavy consumer spending partly fueled by generous government-issued stimulus checks put upward pressure on prices before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Statista reports.

According to GoBankingRates.com, there’s no question that Biden's stimulus payments are responsible for fueling at least some of America's inflation.

"Those who draw a straight line between stimulus payments and generationally high inflation have two indisputable facts on their side." 

GoBankingRates cites ABC News reports that stated no country distributed anywhere near as much stimulus money to its people as the U.S. and no country was hit as hard by rising inflation as the U.S.

Another round of stimulus checks is on the way in some states as inflation continues to surge. According to Forbes, 14 states, including Pennsylvania, will send—or have already sent—payments to taxpayers in the coming months. In Pennsylvania, legislation is pending that would provide up to $500 million in direct assistance to help families pay for things such as household and childcare expenses. If approved, Gov. Tom Wolf’s PA Opportunity Program would allow households with an income of $80,000 or less would be eligible to receive a one-time $2,000 payment.