Our nation’s economy is spiraling into a worsening crisis, yet my colleagues on the left and the Biden administration seem to be ignoring the many signs that we are headed in the wrong direction. My constituents are paying more today than they were a year ago for basic goods, like milk, gas and bread. In fact, the national average price for a gallon of gas recently reached $3.22, more than one dollar higher than it was a year ago, and the highest price since October of 2014. According to Moody’s, the current inflation rate has forced American households earning the U.S. median income of approximately $70,000 to spend another $175 a month on food, fuel, and housing. Many of my constituents are already struggling to rebound and cannot afford these increases.
It has been noted that core inflation is at a 30-year high. Inflation is an invisible tax on all Americans, and it especially hurts seniors living on a fixed income. Alarmingly, inflation has gone up every month since President Biden has been in office due to out-of-control government spending, which is a catalyst for fueling inflation. Small business owners, who are the backbone of our economy, are having a very difficult time recovering from the pandemic. They are facing labor and material shortages, as well as, supply chain disruptions that impact distribution. And, they are also dealing with the same inflationary pressures that all Americans are experiencing. In a recent survey of small business owners in my district, 88 percent of respondents said that inflation has negatively impacted their business, forcing many to raise prices. Last month’s lackluster Jobs Report also fell far below expectations, offering another warning that this administration’s approach is not delivering the type of results Americans need. Bidenomics just isn’t working.
Some of my colleagues appear to believe more spending is the answer, as evidenced by the $4.3 trillion spending plan coupled with a $1.5 trillion “Infrastructure package”— both of which are filled with pork spending. For example, the spending bill contains: $2 billion for job training in climate careers, $7.5 billion to create a Civilian Climate Corps to promote the Green New Deal, $4 million to develop environmental justice initiatives, $150 million for species protection, $6.8 billion in housing grants available to felons convicted of domestic violence or hate crimes, $100 billion for 10 million illegal immigrants, and $200 million for a park in San Francisco.
I do believe we need to invest in traditional infrastructure such as roads, bridges, internet connectivity, and cybersecurity. However, a very small percentage of the proposed infrastructure package funds these types of essential projects, which is wrong. Despite claims to the contrary, these packages would raise taxes on every American family, not just the rich. They will kill American jobs and make us less competitive in the global marketplace. More frivolous Washington spending is just the wrong approach to fixing our problems. It will only make matters worse.
Instead of working together to find common ground and areas about which we can build consensus, my colleagues on the left seem determined to go it alone. They have spent weeks publicly arguing among themselves about how many trillion of American tax dollars they should spend without any concern to what this out-of-control spending will do to our already struggling economy. We all need to take heed of the warning signs and take immediate action to address rising inflation. Simply put… the dangerous path Washington is on will not grow the economy; it will only continue to grow inflation. We need to work together to restore our way of life, rebuild our economy and renew the American Dream.
Gus Bilirakis represents Florida’s 12th District.