Tom Cotton Admits Trump, Not Biden, Caused Inflation

[AZProgressive]

Republicans have been hammering the Biden administration over inflation. Democrats have tried to respond by blaming supply-chain shortages caused by the pandemic. But Republican senator Tom Cotton has a completely different theory: He blames inflation on Donald Trump’s poor selection to lead the Federal Reserve.

Cotton’s view, laid out in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, places the blame for inflation squarely on Jerome Powell, the Fed’s chairman. “Mr. Powell’s Fed has forced millions of American families to choose whether to pay the mortgage, feed their families, fill up their gas tanks, heat their homes or buy Christmas presents,” he argues.

Cotton makes this case in the course of explaining his forthcoming vote against Powell’s renomination. And obviously, Cotton is not trying to blame Trump (whose name does not appear in his column). But, while anything Powell does in his second term will be on Biden, the reason Powell has the job in the first place is that Donald Trump appointed him.

Trump selected Powell in large part because he deemed his predecessor, Janet Yellen, too short to effectively handle monetary policy. Once in office, Powell was an inflation dove, leaving interest rates low in order to run the economy hot. Trump was constantly demanding Powell push interest rates even lower.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/12/jerome-powell-inflation-federal-reserve-tom-cotton-trump-biden.html

[JohnSJ]

1. What an entire mischaracterization of the facts. The inflation is a direct result of the

shortages, which are directly related to the previous administration mishandling of the pandemic, along with his trade wars.

The idea that Powell is responsible for that is ludicrous, and those that believe that if Powell increased interest rates that would solve the inflation problem, are looking to add insult to injury at this stage.

The Fed has been required to keep interest rates low for so long, first because of the economic implosion under bush, and as things were starting to recover from that fiasco, they were getting ready to increase interest rates when the pandemic hit

This rewriting, of history, or better yet, selective memories is quite frustrating

The rand pauls, tom cottons, etc. would love the economy to tank right at this critical stage when we are actually starting to recover from the republican's multiple misdeads

[House of Roberts]

4. They need a scapegoat to discredit giving 'free money' to ordinary working class Americans.

What they haven't bothered to calculate, and I keep saying this, is the aggregate demand pre-covid versus during covid.

There's two kinds of inflation, cost-push and demand-pull. If the Fed raises interest rates for any reason except broad prosperity among workers, they will do the same thing they did in the 70s to Jimmy Carter, push the economy into stagflation, by using the WRONG solution to the inflation. If they really were educated economists, they'd know this won't work.

[JohnSJ]

7. Yes. Until the shortage issue resolves, I don't think we will have a clear picture just how much is

due to that, or how much is real demand pull

[c-rational]

5. +1

[SWBTATTReg]

2. I'm shocked that he admitted the truth. Elements of higher inflation, etc. don't just appear

magically overnight as some on the republican side seem to infer. Ridiculous.

[Thomas Hurt]

8. To most on the right, our economy crash the day Biden took office, hasn't recovered since.

Socialism you see.

[Claustrum]

3. I never got the logic of the 1 $2000 check that Biden gave as the cause of inflation.

Because Trump gave same check, a PPP loans that is mostly free for many many companies, feds buying stocks to hold the stock market up. If they believe the free money in the economy is the cause, then Trump owns 75%+ of the blame.

[Turbineguy]

6. But causing harm is makes trump so popular

If he had syphilis and infected others, it would help him get elected.