Stephen Moore, chief economist at a free market advocacy group, said big US companies - or what President Joe Biden called monopolies - were not the cause of inflation, but rather uncontrolled federal spending.
Moore told NTD Capitol Report host Steve Lance that there were two main causes of inflation: "One is the Fed, which was far behind the curve on this zero-interest policy and flooded the economy. with cheap dollars. "And the second is the huge spending and multi-trillion dollar borrowing by the Biden government."
Biden, meanwhile, said inflation was driven by large companies that have a monopoly on the market and that "it has been happening for a decade."
"But over time, that is likely to change the competition. Drainage small businesses and farmers, ranchers. "It has boosted consumer prices," Biden told a news conference on December 19. White House. "We end up in an industry like the meat processing industry where four big companies dominate the markets."
But Moore argued, "If it's the problem of a decade, then why have we had almost no inflation for many decades?"
Moore said Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell should have acted much earlier to help ease rising inflation.
"I think they have to stop buying, to buy all these assets, which… put more money into the economy. "But most importantly, we need to stop overeating spending in Washington."
"I call it [inflation] the toughest tax of all because what it is doing is shrinking the wages of American workers. So let me give you an example. Last year, workers' wages rose by about 4,5 percent, which is a very good number in normal times - a 4,5 percent wage increase is really good. The problem is that inflation has risen by 7%. "This means that the purchasing power of people with the money they make at work is actually shrinking."
Biden acknowledged that inflation is a problem for most Americans, but again highlighted the issue of supply chain and the pandemic that is causing high demand with insufficient supply.
"Well, I mean [inflation] is a real problem, but the point is that it has to do with the supply chain, but it also has to do with the fact that not everyone is looking for a used car, but those who are "They pay higher prices because they are lower because of COVID and what it ran out of," Biden said.
While Biden blames the natural increase in demand as the pandemic subsides, Moore said funds for COVID introduced by the federal government in the market in 2021 have boosted demand at the expense of consumers, raising prices.
"If one lives on a steady income or an income of $ 40.000- $ 50.000 a year, this cost increase is a real challenge for lower-income families," Moore said.
