{"id":1475343,"date":"2022-05-14T19:44:45","date_gmt":"2022-05-14T23:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1475343"},"modified":"2022-05-14T19:45:50","modified_gmt":"2022-05-14T23:45:50","slug":"kevin-d-williamson-inflation-proves-biden-has-done-everything-wrong-all-at-once","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kevin-d-williamson-inflation-proves-biden-has-done-everything-wrong-all-at-once\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin D. Williamson: Inflation Proves Biden Has Done Everything Wrong All at Once"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkevin-d-williamson-inflation-proves-biden-has-done-everything-wrong-all-at-once%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1475343&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Our increasingly ugly inflation problem is a perfect illustration of the Biden administration\u2019s uncanny ability to get everything everywhere wrong all at once.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration\u2019s first response to any problem is to pretend that it isn\u2019t a problem. That\u2019s how inflation went from a minor problem to a major one. Unwilling to take the necessary steps to rein in inflation early \u2014 pushing the Fed to raise interest rates and slowing down the torrent of money going out the Treasury\u2019s doors \u2014 Biden and congressional Democrats at first insisted that inflation wasn\u2019t a real problem: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/democrats-worry-biden-could-pay-the-political-price-for-rising-inflation\/2022\/01\/12\/6f76ba68-73c7-11ec-8b0a-bcfab800c430_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Transitory,<\/a>\u201d they called it.<\/p>\n<p>And then when inflation turned out <em>not<\/em> to be transitory, they thought they could just pin it on the Russians. Jen Psaki sniffed smugly at the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=q0IfIoz7Drs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Putin price hike<\/a>,\u201d as though Americans were too stupid to understand that inflation at home had started long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That gambit fizzled, too.<\/p>\n<p>When you don\u2019t have any fresh ideas or real principles \u2014 and when your long-term goals are limited by the fact that the president, who was born during the Roosevelt administration, isn\u2019t exactly buying any green bananas \u2014 then the easiest thing to do is to throw money at every problem.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/putin-russian-cabinet.jpg\"><\/a><figcaption>The Biden administration has found a convenient \u2014 and easy \u2014 target in Russian leader Vladimir Putin, blaming him for the inflation spike. But inflation was rising before the Ukraine war. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Throwing money at things is how you make inflation worse.<\/p>\n<p>Washington had already thrown a lot of money at the economy during the COVID-19 emergency, and, predictably, the emergency spending outlasted the emergency. By the time Biden was elected in 2020, Washington had thrown <a href=\"https:\/\/datalab.usaspending.gov\/federal-covid-funding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$2.6 trillion in budgetary resources at COVID<\/a> and had authorized as much as $4 trillion in subsidized federal lending. That was new money amounting to about <a href=\"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/GDP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a third of GDP<\/a> sloshing around the economy. Biden\u2019s first priority was pushing out another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/biden-needing-boost-sign-1-trillion-infrastructure-bill-2021-11-15\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$1 trillion in a phony infrastructure bill<\/a> (that has little to do with actual infrastructure) and a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, even though the Consumer Price Index\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/CPALTT01USQ659N\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">was already rising steeply<\/a>, according to the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n<p>Stimulating an already overstimulated economy is how you make inflation worse.<\/p>\n<p>Our inflation problem is only partly an issue of dovish monetary policy and reckless spending. There are problems in the real-world physical economy, too, those \u201csupply-chain issues\u201d we hear about. The Biden administration has done extraordinarily dumb things to make these worse, too, keeping in place <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2022\/03\/04\/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-delivers-on-made-in-america-commitments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the worst of the Trump administration\u2019s anti-trade policies<\/a>. That \u201cMade in the USA\u201d talk sounds good on the stump, but the truth is we need a lot that we don\u2019t make at home and aren\u2019t going to \u2014\u00a0including much of the steel and other vital inputs for the high-value manufacturing we actually do here.<\/p>\n<p>The incredible fact is the Biden administration still had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamber.com\/international\/ending-tariffs-on-ukraine-would-be-a-powerful-symbol-of-support\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">punitive tariffs on Ukrainian steel <\/a>while it was seeking financial aid for the Ukrainians \u2014 it wasn\u2019t until the Chamber of Commerce and conservative critics started making a stink that the administration changed its stance.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/boats-waiting-for-docks.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/boats-waiting-for-docks.jpg\" alt=\"Container ships wait to dock at Los Angeles harbor. Biden policies have hindered efforts to improve port efficiency, further adding to the current supply-chain crisis.\" class=\"wp-image-22249027\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/boats-waiting-for-docks.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/boats-waiting-for-docks.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/boats-waiting-for-docks.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Container ships wait to dock at Los Angeles harbor. Biden policies have hindered efforts to improve port efficiency, further adding to the current supply-chain crisis. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Biden has rejected obvious reforms such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2021\/01\/25\/executive-order-on-ensuring-the-future-is-made-in-all-of-america-by-all-of-americas-workers\/#:~:text=Briefing%20Room-,Executive%20Order%20on%20Ensuring%20the%20Future%20Is%20Made%20in%20All,by%20All%20of%20America&#039;s%20Workers&#038;text=The%20United%20States%20Government%20should%2C%20whenever%20possible%2C%20procure%20goods%2C,and%20help%20America&#039;s%20workers%20thrive.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">waiving the Jones Act<\/a>, which keeps goods \u2014 and fuel \u2014 from moving from one US port to another via ship. It has backed union efforts to prevent operators from improving the capacity and efficiency of our ports through automation, sacrificing that progress in favor of a <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/10\/18\/to-please-unions-biden-wont-automate-ports-fueling-supply-chain-woes\/\">make-work policy for the benefit of longshoremen<\/a>. Nearly none of that \u201cinfrastructure\u201d money has made its way to any project that would actually ease supply-chain issues.<\/p>\n<p>Interfering with trade during a supply-chain crisis is how you make inflation worse.<\/p>\n<p>The United States, Canada and Mexico together make up a formidable energy superpower. But it does not matter how much oil and gas you have if you cannot get it to refineries and then get the refined products to consumers. Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/bidens-keystone-pipeline-kill-11611184519\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">killed the Keystone XL pipeline<\/a>, and his EPA is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2021\/01\/20\/executive-order-protecting-public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">standing on the neck<\/a> of developing any new conventional energy infrastructure. As gasoline prices skyrocket, US refineries in the Gulf are sending much of their gasoline to Mexico to be sold, because there is no economic way to get it to the Northeast or the West Coast.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/keystone-pipeline.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/keystone-pipeline.jpg\" alt=\"Biden killed the Keystone XL pipeline that would have helped expedite the shipment of crude oil across the US. Instead, we are buying much of our oil from overseas.\" class=\"wp-image-22249047\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/keystone-pipeline.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/keystone-pipeline.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/keystone-pipeline.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/keystone-pipeline.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Biden killed the Keystone XL pipeline that would have helped expedite the shipment of crude oil across the US. Instead, we are buying much of our oil from overseas.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Biden is contemplating a trip to Saudi Arabia to beg OPEC to produce more oil \u2014apparently, nobody has told him that Midland, Texas, is a hell of a lot closer.<\/p>\n<p>Driving up energy prices for no good reason is how you make inflation worse.<\/p>\n<p>Inflation is sometimes associated with a booming economy, but our economy shrank in the last quarter. Biden, who was in the Senate in the 1970s, is old enough to remember the word \u201cstagflation,\u201d which is what you get when you have a stagnant economy and inflation at the same time.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/traders-dow-jones.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/traders-dow-jones.jpg\" alt=\"With inflation hitting levels not seen in over four decades, global stock markets are tanking \u2014 taking personal savings and 401k accounts down with them.\" class=\"wp-image-22249062\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/traders-dow-jones.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/traders-dow-jones.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/traders-dow-jones.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>With inflation hitting levels not seen in over four decades, global stock markets are tanking \u2014 taking personal savings and 401k accounts down with them.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And it is what you get when you combine the wrong monetary policy with the wrong fiscal policy, the wrong trade policy, the wrong regulatory policy, and the wrong energy policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s how you make inflation worse.<\/p>\n<p><em>Kevin D. Williamson is the author of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Big-White-Ghetto-Stone-Cold-America\/dp\/1621579697\/?tag=nypost-20&#038;asc_refurl=https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/05\/14\/inflation-proves-biden-has-done-everything-wrong-all-at-once\/&#038;asc_source=web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\">Big White Ghetto: Dead Broke, Stone-Cold Stupid, and High on Rage in the Dank Woolly Wilds of the \u2018Real America<\/a>.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our increasingly ugly inflation problem is a perfect illustration of the Biden administration\u2019s uncanny ability to get everything everywhere wrong all at once. The Biden administration\u2019s first response<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1475343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1475343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1475343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1475343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1475343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1475343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1475343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}