Anticipating 2022 election issues

Every

two years American citizens and others on certain lists get to vote at least once for representatives who promise to support their views in Washington. As usual the number one issue for voters is the economy.

Inflation aka the Consumer Price Index grew 8.5% annual rate in March, the highest since December 1981. To put that rate into context, the CPI rate has hovered between 0.7% from 2012 to 1.4% in 2020. In 2021, the CPI jumped to 7% before climbing steadily the past few months to 8.5%.

At the end of 2020 the U.S. was energy independent and the average annual price of gas was $2.24 compared with $3.13 at the end of 2021.

This year according to the USDA Beef and veal will increase +16.2%, Pork +14%, Poultry +12.5%, Fish and seafood +10.4%, and Eggs +11.4%. Food prices around the world are escalating even higher with the UN reporting a record high in February of 20.7% increase year-on-year.

Other issues that will draw voters to the polls in November include (in no particular order) our southern border and immigration, education, abortion, Covid-19 mandates, climate change, and international relations.

The Biden administration and mainstream news outlets have essentially downplayed the southern border crisis in spite of unprecedented numbers. Border officials caught 221,303 illegal border crossers last month, the highest number in 22 years and 33% more than in February. The U.S. is set to record more than 2-million encounters this fiscal year, and that's not counting 300,000 “got-aways” reported by border officials since October. Many of the “got-aways” escaped with hundreds of pounds of Fentanyl, compounding the 55% increase of seizures last year. Fentanyl has become the number 1 killer of 18-45 year olds in the U.S.

Of course, K-12 education has become a hotter issue in the age of Covid-19. Parents who stayed home got to see some of their children's classes online. They also began diving into textbooks and other curricula that raised concerns about age-appropriate topics. Critical Race Theory (CRT) and a push to teach K-3 age students specifics about gender including the how to's of transitioning from one's biological gender to “another” gender raised alarms.

Parents' concerns about CRT likely led to a stunning victory in Virginia's governor's race. The Democrat candidate, Terry McAuliffe, took his stand with K-12 teachers against parents having a say in what their children were being taught in school. The parents won.

Abortion has been a perennial issue since Roe v.

Wade, and it has become a much more contentious issue in connection with Supreme Court appointments. The Court has already heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, Mississippi's challenge to Roe v. Wade, and the justices will likely decide the case next spring. No new Supreme Court appointments are expected before 2024 elections.

Covid-19 mandates and climate change are more or less issues for hardcore believers in the power of big government. Woke and naive voters will continue to follow the mesmerizing piper.

And, that leaves those nuisance relationships across the pond. The Easter Bunny's ability to redirect reporters' questions about Afghanistan as well as Russia, Ukraine, China, Iran, North Korea, and the Middle East must surely have reduced tensions “over there” as well as here at home.

Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville, MS. You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com.