So, let’s blame Biden

It seems as though every time I turn on the TV there’s Sarah Sanders blaming President Biden for inflation. This troubles me because apparently Ms. Sanders doesn’t know the basics of economics. That’s not good when you are hoping to be governor.

So let’s revisit the basics of supply and demand. When supply is high relative to demand, economies recess. When supply is low relative to demand, economies inflate. We always like stability where demand and supply grow in proportion with each other. However, environmental variables can upset the equilibrium. Remember covid? Overnight a novel virus took over our economy. Its impact was exacerbated by the previous administration’s mishandling of the response. We failed to get ahead of the virus’ spread so the impact was prolonged and intense. The previous administration packed the economy full of money, hoping to keep it in equilibrium, at least until the election.

The result: Businesses used the money to reduce their workforces. Many households became flush with cash because they had fewer options for spending. Then, as the pandemic started to ease, we instantly had low supply and pent-up demand. Cap that off with supply-chain headaches brought on by years of unchecked free-market greed where exportation of jobs was the key to padding profits and avoiding taxes. Boom! The perfect inflation storm. Joe Biden had very little to do with how we got here, but what he has done will begin to bring jobs back and ensure a better future. The Federal Reserve has the only real lever against inflation and is using it to control the flow of money. It’s a crude instrument, but it will work.

Ms. Sanders, please. I thought you were running against Chris Jones, not President Biden. If I were you, I wouldn’t want to mention Mr. Jones by name either. He’s a physicist, nuclear engineer, urban planner, and he has a plan for Arkansas. But you … well, you worked for Mr. Trump. So you have that going for you.

DALE HUMPHREY

North Little Rock