The GOP's Same Old Inflation Playbook

How Republicans have simplified the economics of inflation

Republicans spent months pounding President Joe Biden over what they claim is rampant inflation, sensing a real opportunity for victory in November. The only thing likely to change now that Vice President Kamala Harris is the likely Democratic nominee for president is the name in the negative advertisements. The GOP inflation rhetoric dates to the summer of 2022, when the Consumer Price Index reached 9.1% and inflation became the story in the U.S. Instead of acknowledging the impact of global supply chain disruptions that occurred during the pandemic, Republicans simplified the economics of inflation, transforming it into a finger-pointing political language that tapped into the broader economic anxieties Americans were experiencing.

Even though inflation has dropped dramatically — to 3.7% in June 2024, less than the increase in wages — Republicans have continued to create an image of economic catastrophe if Harris wins in November. “Here’s the truth,” said Florida Senator Rick Scott in a recent press release, “the Biden administration’s spending policies has [sic] caused the inflation that we’re seeing and the economic devastation it is producing.” 

Check out the full article at Time’s Made by History.