Keystone Today

Inflation continues to be a hot button issue as the midterm elections approach and some economic officials are sounding off on President Joe Biden’s fiscal policy.

“Bidenomics, which Treasury Secretary Yellen (wrongly) dubbed "modern supply-side economics”, has been a disaster. Biden’s wild spending has fueled INFLATION and has set the US up for a whopper of a RECESSION. Bidenomics is for the birds,” tweeted Steve Hanke, who is a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University.

The Economist uses the term “Bidenomics” in reference to President Biden’s practice of stimulating the economy with with large amounts of money. The article argues that this is a policy choice that has been exacerbated by the Russia invasion of Ukraine, and is likely to be a top issue for voters.

According to a report by the Joint Economic Committee Republicans, prices in Pennsylvania have increased drastically since 2021 at a rate of 11.7%. The report found that Pennsylvania families need to pay $611 extra to achieve the same standard of living as January 2021. Transportation costs have shown the highest increase, costing families $199 more than last year.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz took to Twitter to criticize Biden for Pennsylvania’s financial woes.

“Pennsylvanians are suffering from 8% inflation, and President Biden claims the economy is ‘strong as hell’,” Oz tweeted last week. “In 16 days, PA voters will hold Democrats accountable for their failed economic policies.”

Paige Terryberry, a senior analyst for fiscal policy at the John Locke Foundation, says that the current levels of inflation are due to the cash injection by the government at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a report by smartasset.com, increases in government spending is a main factor that economists point to for the cause of inflation. It also lists factors like interest rates, monetary policy, supply chain issues and demand being up and down for goods and services.