Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat from the state of Pennsylvania has now renewed a push to see $2,000 stimulus checks restarted for residents in the state who are making $80,000 or less. Apparently, this guy, like the vast majority of folks on the left, has no idea what the word “inflation,” means. However, Wolf did have a comment to make on that subject too, and it’s a doozy.
According to a report from the Daily Wire, Wolf made the argument on Monday while attending an event held in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, concerning the “Pennsylvania Opportunity Program,” going on to say this would help people deal with rising inflation. Wait a minute. So Wolf’s answer to dealing with inflation is….creating more inflation? Really? He then stated the initiative would cost a whopping $500 million and draw upon funds from the state’s $15 billion budget surplus.
“We can actually help families get lifesaving medicine out of state funds. We can help families stay in their homes,” Wolf went on to say in his argument in support of the program. “We can help families afford to eat. Why on earth wouldn’t we do it? Especially now, again, when we have the money sitting in the bank.”
Republicans in the state, who happen to be in control of both chambers of the Pennsylvania legislature, have, of course, come out against the measure noting concerns that it could potentially make inflation even worse. However, that’s not something that Wolf is buying. Probably because he can’t do simple mathematics.
“It’s just mind-boggling, the sense that giving somebody who is trying to put food on the table or pay the rent, that that is somehow inflationary, when how many trillions of dollars did we give away to the very wealthy during the Trump years in tax breaks?” he stated.
Here’s some more information from the report:
Other Democratic governors have proposed various stimulus measures as living expenses remain elevated. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, year-over-year inflation reached 8.5% in July 2022, with a slight moderation from the 9.1% reading in the previous month driven by lower energy prices — even as costs for food, new vehicles, medical care, and shelter continue to rise.
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) recently signed a $308 billion state budget that includes $1.95 billion in emergency rental assistance, $1.4 billion to help citizens pay utility bills, and $9.5 billion for tax refunds of up to $1,050 per household for many Californians. As fuel prices soared in the wake of the Russian invasion of [redacted], Newsom proposed an $11 billion plan to send $400 stimulus checks to Californians for each registered vehicle.
“We’re taking immediate action to get money directly into the pockets of Californians who are facing higher gas prices as a direct result of Putin’s invasion of [redacted],” Newsom remarked in a recent statement. “But this package is also focused on protecting people from volatile gas prices, and advancing clean transportation — providing three months of free public transportation, fast-tracking electric vehicle incentives and charging stations, and new funding for local biking and walking projects.”
The report then said:
After the federal government passed multiple rounds of stimulus checks in reaction to COVID and nationwide lockdowns, evidence that the payments contributed to inflation has continued to mount. Enhanced weekly unemployment benefits of $300 per person — passed under President Donald Trump and extended under President Joe Biden — lasted in many states through September 2021, while other states opted out of the program in the interest of fostering a recovery in their labor markets. Indeed, economists Harry Holzer, Glenn Hubbard, and Michael Strain said in a recent paper that states which prematurely nixed the benefits saw “the flow of unemployed workers into employment increase by around two-thirds.”
President Joe Biden has insisted over and over again that the reason for the spike in inflation is due to corporate price gouging and that gas is so expensive because of “Putin’s Price Hike,” essentially laying the blame for our astronomical fuel cost on the situation still going on between [redacted] and Russia. This, of course, can’t possibly be true. Why? Simple.
Gas prices were already rising steadily the moment that Biden took office. There’s no doubt that his first action in office, shutting down the Keystone XL Pipeline, is largely responsible for this, along with policies he’s promoting that negatively impact the leasing of land for oil and gas drilling. Let’s hope that we see that red wave later this year and can do something, anything to provide folks with actual relief that won’t send the inflation rate soaring higher than it already is.
