By BETHANY MARCUM AND WILL BURGER
Bidenomics, which has been hindering American prosperity and growth for going on four years, has made it all the way to the Last Frontier, and Alaskans are feeling the pain.
The president’s solution to the high inflation, slow growth, and economic unease he abetted is to keep doing what he’s been doing – hammering the same policies that caused the problems in the first place. Meanwhile, Alaska’s only member of the House of Representatives, Mary Peltola, has been voting with the president in support of these policies over 90% of the time.
Doubling down on the status quo won’t cut it. We can’t fix the economy by continuing on the ruinous path of trillion-dollar federal deficits that fuel inflation and drive interest rates higher.
Instead, we need to enact policies that enable sustainable economic growth and end out-of-control federal spending.
Inflation recently reached a 41-year high, and it has remained elevated since Biden took office. It’s not hard to figure out why.
Too much money is chasing too few goods, stoked by artificially inflated demand caused by blowout government spending.
Alaska is among the states hardest hit by Bidenomics, with a cumulative inflation rate of 19.2% since Biden took office. That amounts to additional costs of $1,217 a month for each Alaskan, or more than $14,000 a year.
Average families are bearing the brunt of the economic folly of this president and Rep. Congresswoman Peltola.
Mortgage interest rates have more than doubled. Fuel and energy costs continue to rise due to Biden’s war on fossil fuels, so critical to our state’s economy, and the unprecedented spending on a forced transition to less efficient, more expensive green energy.
Since January 2021, home heating oil is up 44%, gasoline is up 33%, and electricity and natural gas are both up 29%.
Feeding our families also costs more these days.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of staple items including chicken (up 25.95%), hot dogs (up 42%), and ground beef (up 29.4%) have soared.
Americans are spending an average of 20.7% more on groceries since January 2021. For a family of four with moderate costs, that means another $223 a month.
That might not mean much to well-off lobbyists and politicians in Washington, but to the average Alaskan, that’s money no longer available to save for college or a new home, or just to take the kids out to the movies.
In typical fashion, those politicians want to blame everybody but themselves for the mess they’ve created.
Anti-business posturing by the president and others – accusations of “greedflation” and “shrinkflation” – is hot air intended to distract us from the real culprits: the people in charge of a government that can’t stop spending money it doesn’t have.
And while prices are going up, wages are going down.
Inflation-adjusted hourly wages are down 2.5% since January 2021. While there have been some recent real wage increases, they’ve been more than offset by a decrease in the average work week. The overall result is that since January 2021, real weekly earnings have shrunk 3.9%.
Alaskans are tired of scapegoats and excuses. We need solutions that will ensure we can feed our families, heat our homes, put gas in our cars, and have a chance at a better life in the future.
That means leaving Bidenomics behind and embracing reforms that benefit everyone through long-term economic growth and prosperity.
We need to lower inflation by ending the government spending spree that diverts economic resources away from the private sector and redirects them to the crony friends of politicians and policymakers.
We need to drive down the cost of gasoline and home heating oil by getting rid of barriers to domestic energy production.
Alaskans are famous for our resiliency. But even hearty Alaskans are struggling with an economy in which the cost of living is rising and wages are falling. With savings down and credit card debt soaring, too many of us are living paycheck to paycheck.
The economy is teetering, but the president and Rep. Mary Peltola are unconcerned. They think things are going swimmingly.
They’re not. And they won’t get better until the overspending stops and politicians start recognizing the hardships their policies have created for Alaskans.
Bethany Marcum is state director of Americans for Prosperity-Alaska. Will Burger is a senior advisor for government affairs with AFP.
Duh. Democrat separation from reality only costs real working people.
It has been a disaster for the whole world. He could not run a Kool aide stand.
Hello Germany 1935, thats what Dimbonomics equates to. What happened ro the good old days of all presidents clinging to trickle down economics? Oops that would be 44.
Thank you for sharing all this information. With the impact on Alaskans due to Bidenomics, one would think the Alaska Legislators would, FOR ONCE, respect the law and allow Alaskans their legal and full PFDs.
The prices are getting worse AND we have not even seen the food shortages yet. Better be growing some food people!
Good luck with that, living in a place with a 100 day growing season (at best), and a postage stamp sized back yard. Most residents in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and the Mat-Su live in subdivisions on very small lots. It just isn’t physically possible for most of them to grow enough to put a dent in their food bill on an annual basis.
They can do the best that they can do. Something is better than nothing. Vertical gardens for small spaces.
Until you understand that federal reserve notes have no value you will continue to lose wealth to inflation. The federal reserve note is printed by a private bank and has no inherent value. It is monopoly money backed up by military intervention and nuclear weapons.
Let me guess, you’re all about crypto, right? That same crypto that was pulled out of thin air and has its worth based on “not being controlled by a bank” but somehow is sold for the real, “fiat” $100 bills.
He fell for computer math is a store of wealth meme. Lol.
Yes, especially since trumpy and the republican congress handed out all of that money to the unemployed here in Alaska and they were lining up at the stores emptying the shelves every chance they were able to. Then he did nothing to eleviate the shipping backlog that was going on. Glad Joe took charge and changed the disastrous course we were on injecting bleach in our veins and groping our way through life!
Dont forget to mention Joe’s fentanyl relief program which is so effective putting hundreds of thousands out of their misery.
It’s more effective than the mad scientist Fauci’s covid relief medicine He helped the Chinese engineer.
Now all Joe has left is to figure out a way to get rid of those pesky Jews….
You missed April Fool’s Day by a month.
You and reality just aren’t on a first name basis, are you son?
You forgot to /sarc/ that.
Just saw the movie, “Civil War.”
The Biden Presidency is all over that movie.
He messed up America so badly that a took a civil war to straighten the country out. And in the end, there was Biden hiding out behind his press secretary, both shot dead in the White House.
LOVE that movie.
💥💥💨
“And in the end, there was Biden hiding out behind his press secretary, both shot dead in the White House.”
That might just make that movie worth going to see!
(especially if the press secretary is that carpet-munching black raggedy ann.)
Yup.
If you want all those things, you are going to have to leave Alaska. The cost of living and the political climate are not conducive to live, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I recommend southern Missouri, eastern Tennessee, or any pocket of sane, conservative minded Americans like areas of North Carolina.
I saw it coming in 2022. That was a big impetus for us to cash it in and move to the deep south where homes and land is affordable, gardening is easy, and the hunting/fishing is good.
And it’s not going to get any better when electricity doubles in cost (or more). Time to change course.
‘https://www.capito.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/epa-releases-coal-fired-power-plant-rules#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Environmental%20Protection%20Agency,previous%20requirement%20by%20one%20year.
Gas? Up.
Food? Up.
Energy? Way up.
Housing? Insanely up.
Health care? Politicized and up.
Growth? Down.
Transportation? Up.
Interest rates? Up.
Crime? Up.
I could go on at length, but I’m too old and don’t want to waste the time left being redundant.
Sounds great. So what did they do? Why they just invited everybody who could get here to invade our country from every corrupt third world hole on the planet. Millions of more mouths to feed when we’re already in debt up to our eyeballs. What could go wrong?
Wages? down. Largely due to the millions of undocumented working under the table for the rich (for cash)
Wages are up.
No they’re not…not even close. Maybe for fast food workers but not trades people. What does a retired Floridian know about wages anyways? Especially in Alaska…?Even if wages were up for everyone across the board that only puts us a little bit behind inflation….not ahead. Good God you say some dumb $**~. The point is Biden is a disaster….he’s a disaster for americas, the economy, the military, the border, education, transportation, families..should I go on?? I don’t remember any president..ever..having so many bridges collapse or trains derail. Fool.
I worked in alaska for over 20 years. In that time, made 6 figures. Raise every year.
You’re welcome.
Always.
Bidenomics: it’s working.
(working to destroy the USA, that is.)
I agree with the ADN letter quoting Captain Bligh, the beatings will continue until morale improves. Perhaps lowering the BSA and teacher salaries, and forcing everyone into home schooling is the answer
It would certainly benefit the kids.
MA; I think you identify the problem’s correctly.
I believe the cause of inflation is over populations and the supply’s of goods are less than the demands.
Here is a wonderfully biting quote that I lifted from a different online forum, from a story on how the current rate of dollar depreciation (a.k.a. “inflation”) is financially devastating the average American, which made me laugh out loud, as it so perfectly reflects the typical denial-of-reality propaganda spouted by the sociopathic ruling class:
“Paul Krugman’s CPI index, which currently includes only fake moustaches and harpsichord wax, shows inflation is almost zero!”
Not to mention murkowski voting to pixx away how many BILLION taxpayer dollars!
And our Juneau legislators answer to all this?
Why, to steal even more of our PFD. I’m sure that I’m not the only one who expected nothing less from them.
As for Peltola…..don’t blame me, I voted for Nick.
In Juneau there is a crazy construction boom. All kinds of new health care and government buildings. Houses being bought, razed, the land cleared and apartments going in. Massive swaths of trees being mowed over for more apartments and condos. Endless supply of money flowing in, no wonder inflation is skyrocketing.
What seems to surprise people: On average, U.S. wages have outpaced inflation since 2020. Inflation peaked in June 2022. One last comment about the people obsessing about the price of gasoline today vs. 4 years ago. Oil at $80 a barrel allows Alaska to have a decent economy, oil at $20 a barrel is a disaster! Can you imagine a corn farmer in Iowa lamenting $25 for a dozen sweet corn. Additionally, the United States just produced the most oil and gas than any other country in the history of the planet in 2023. Quit trying to convince us that the oil industry has been destroyed by Biden. Look at the oil industries stock prices today vs. when the former guy was in office. None of these facts has any intention on nudging the opinions of Fox, OAN, and Newsmax viewers, they abandoned common sense and reality years ago!
“On average, U.S. wages have outpaced inflation since 2020. Inflation peaked in June 2022.”
Once again, Sebastian, I usually have to visit a kindergarten if not a pre-school to find this level of gullibility and naivete — or is it simply maliciously self-aware disingenuousness?
Yeah, and you probably believe in the laughably divorced-from-reality government statistics that “show” that inflation is only 2.5% or whatever absurdly lowball number they are desperately trying to peddle this week.
REAL wages have been consistently falling since the 1970s, all your government-issued propaganda and ridiculously massaged statistics to the contrary. Get the Hell of here with your intellectually insulting lies already.
His statement was so idiotic on so many levels it didn’t even merit ridicule.
I appreciate you fighting the good fight, but it’s impossible to educate the deliberately ignorant.
Hey Starship, the source for wages and inflation is Bloomberg Finance. It’s behind a paywall so you’ll have to hope Highlights magazine breaks it down for you next issue. As far as your studies outside your parents house, no sane kindergarten teacher is going to allow you anywhere near her students. Jeff, none of us think your PhD in economics from Prager University allows you to inform us on critical financial topics. Stick to contrails and illuminati, that’s your wheelhouse.
Hey Sebastian, Bloomberg Finance is simply repeating the same discredited and laughably false government-provided bullshit statistics. But nice attempt to use the fallacious “appeal to authority” logical fallacy, arrow #34 in the radical leftist extremist quiver.
Sebastian, you are horribly confused on every issue, but ” Starship ” was hilarious! Thanks for the humor, at least.
That’s the funniest thing I’ve read on here in a good long while. True also.
Go get another clot shot booster, Greg.
And don’t forget to wear your mask!
That was weak even by your standards.
Welcome.
Richard Nixon took the USA off the gold standard. Milton Friedman says 2% inflation and controlled creation of money supply every year is ideal. Ronald Reagan busted the tax code, esp for the real estate industries.
anyone see or detect a pattern here? own it, we broke it, we pay for it. Adam Smith explained it best, notice he didn’t have fancy Harvard graphs in his book