Why Prices May Vary

This letter to the editor, by Everett Fuchs, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on September 5, 2024.

Inflation is a major concern today as many families struggle to pay their  bills.  It has also become a political issue since the former president and his political party adopted the strategy of blaming Biden for today’s inflation.  A strategy that has been largely successful despite the fact that it is yet another lie.  If you dig deep into the issue, you will find the opposite is true.  

Our looming national debt and the interest on that debt is a major driver of inflation.  The three biggest reasons for that debt go back to the unpaid tax cuts by Presidents Reagan, Bush and Trump that largely benefited rich individuals and corporations.  They borrowed money by selling government bonds to bestow these gifts on their favored donors leaving the rest of us and our children and grandchildren to pay back the principle and interest on these bonds.  A second driver of inflation was the COVID epidemic.  First Trump denied the epidemic and then he bungled the response.  Supply chains were disrupted and shortages caused prices of goods to spike.  The third driver of inflation has been price gouging by large oil, food, and other companies that still continues even though supply chains have normalized. These companies raised prices even while recording record profits.  

So if you plan to vote for a particular candidate or party because you are angry about prices at the gas pump or grocery store, base that vote on the real culprits and not on a political lie.