The COVID-19 pandemic has put extreme pressure on Americans across the country – but right now, Republicans are cheering on inflation while President Biden and congressional Democrats work to help families who are struggling to pay their bills.
As Democrats focus on lowering the cost of prescription drugs, lowering the cost of health insurance, reducing energy bills, and increasing wages for working families, Republicans are hell-bent on obstructing President Biden’s agenda – even as they try and take credit for it.
HuffPost: “Nearly 14 million people have signed up for private insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces […] and a big reason why, experts agree, is the extra financial assistance that became available last year when President Joe Biden and the Democrats enacted their COVID-19 relief program, the American Rescue Plan.”
CNN: “Workers in 21 states will see a rise in the minimum wage in the new year.
As 2022 begins, some states will enact pay bumps ranging from cents to dollars per hour.”
New York Times: “Republican governors who criticized the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill as wasteful are championing state projects funded by the money.”
Republicans have unanimously opposed legislation to lower costs for working families and worked tirelessly to protect the tax breaks they created for corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
Newsweek: “President Joe Biden’s expanded Child Tax Credit has benefited Republican states and is popular among the party’s voters, a new analysis found, despite the fact that it received no GOP support in Congress.”
Now, these same corporations who received massive giveaways from Republicans are taking advantage of the pandemic to raise prices on American consumers.
Reuters: “U.S. companies have retained strong profit margins through the pandemic because they have cut costs and passed along high prices to customers.”
Insider: “But those same execs have been a bit more discreet — apart from their quarterly earnings calls — about celebrating the record profit margins they’ve been able to achieve by not only passing costs on to customers, but by charging even more.”
For Republicans, it’s simple: They believe inflation is a political “gold mine.” That is why they are doing everything in their power to prolong the pandemic, and refusing to take steps to reduce inflation — all at the expense of middle-class families.
Salon: “Republicans’ war on vaccines: GOP pushes strategy to prolong the pandemic”
Daily Kos: “As American families confront higher prices for everyday needs, Republicans celebrate their economic calamity and root for more to come.”
Insider: “‘You can see what’s going to happen next. We’re going to continue to have inflation, and then interest rates will go up,’ Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the head of the Senate GOP’s fundraising arm, told the Wall Street Journal. ‘This is a gold mine for us,’ he said.”
We can’t trust Republicans to do what’s right for families. Despite their inaction, President Biden and congressional Democrats will continue working around the clock to fight inflation.
CNN: “White House investing $1 billion to boost competition in meat-processing industry and lower consumer prices”
CNBC: “The global supply chain pressures blamed for disrupting the flow of goods and sparking high inflation may have finally peaked”
Associated Press: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is awarding more than $241 million in grants to bolster U.S ports, part of the Biden administration’s near-term plan to address America’s clogged supply chain with infrastructure improvements to speed the flow of goods.”
The Wall Street Journal: “White House Says Private Insurers to Cover Rapid Covid-19 Tests”
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Published: Jan 12, 2022 | Last Modified: Jan 14, 2022