Letter to the editor: Inflation can't be blamed on Biden, Democrats Jack Kligerman

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Here is a leftist attempting to explain economics. It should be no surprise that he fails. 

Of particular note is the letter writer's total inability to mention government in any way, except when it comes to Trump.

And by the way, only government can cause inflation. Period.

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Republicans blame President Biden for inflation in the United States, (No, Republicans blame Biden for contributing to inflation.)

but there is a parallel increase in inflation in the European Union, Canada, and elsewhere. Is Biden responsible for that? (Perhaps. The US economy has a global impact. And in fact, leftist political and economic philosophy is ingrained all over the world. So it is no surprise when the results of the economics of the Left are seen in more places the just the US.)

Since so much of material and goods are outsourced to other countries — because corporations want their profit margins to be high (Actually, because government tax law and employment law incentivizes companies to seek out lower cost goods and labor.)

 — the disruption of supply chains, (Supply chains were disrupted by the Left's response to COVID. Almost every Democrat governor and mayor shut down their states and cities for ridiculously extended periods. Thus businesses could not operate and produce their products.)

shipping,  (Shipping was idled by the Democrats' response to COVID.)

and a shortage of goods (Shortage of goods because manufacturers were prevented from operating.)

yields more inflation. (The letter writer doesn't understand inflation. Inflation is the devaluation of money as a matter of government policy. This devaluation is caused by increasing the money supply. That is, when government prints money using debt, more dollars in circulation means each dollar is worth less. That is inflation.)

Biden is blamed for the rise in gas and oil prices, but oil prices are set by the cost of crude oil and the profiteering of oil companies. (But apparently various government policies, like the pulling of leasing for oil fields, the prevention of the movement of oil via trucking, ships, and pipelines, as well as the promulgation of restrictive environmental regulations, tax policy, and legislation do not cause inflation.) 

As for gasoline shortages, did you know that three million barrels of US crude everyday are sold overseas? (Sold by whom? Well, by the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a government stockpile of oil. As of the end of July, the Biden administration has sold 125 million barrels to various foreign governments, including China.)

Many US refineries processing 800,000 barrels of oil a day are inactive, never having been repaired! (The incurious letter writer never wonders why. The government has a plethora of rules, requirements, laws and regulations regarding the operation, upgrading, and building of refineries. Oil companies leave them inoperable because they simply are unable to open them.)

Shortage equals inflation. (The letter writer still does not understand inflation. Supply and demand does not cause inflation.)

Is Biden responsible for that? (Yep.)

Why are rising rents and new house prices included in general inflation? (The government set the criteria for what is included in the inflation calculation.)

The price of wheat has been cut almost in half since its high in March and June 2022, yet prices of wheat-derived products have yet to be lowered. (Again and again the letter writer demonstrates his ignorance. The price of wheat is only one component of the price of the end product. Other components, like labor, taxes, distribution, and a host of other costs, are included in the price. Plus, the bakeries and truck drivers were shut down for months. Getting geared back up in this horrible economy is perilous at best.)

Elsewhere, Southwest Airlines' second-quarter profits doubled. (The letter writer isolates a single fact from a very limited time frame in one one company in a single industry, divorces it from context or analysis, and from that makes a proclamation...)

A dearth in microchips from overseas is another driver of inflation. (No, it's not.)

It results in a shortage of inventories, causing a rise in new and used car prices. (Rising prices do not cause inflation.)

So car manufacturers profit at the expense of consumers. (Astonishing. The inability to sell a car because of chips not being available is deemed to be profitable.)

Then there is COVID-caused inflation; (Who caused it?)

and Russia's invasion of Ukraine; (What inflation did this cause?)

and high consumer demand, which creates an imbalance of supply and demand. (Supply and demand are not inflationary. Inflation causes imbalance to supply and demand.)

Various costs of goods and services have risen, (Cost of goods do not cause inflation. It's the reverse.)

almost immediately after the start of COVID. Remember that inflation began when Trump was president. (Whaaaaat? Inflation did not "begin" when Trump was president. We've had inflation since the beginning of the country.

We can look up the number for ourselves:

2017	2.5	2.7	2.4	2.2	1.9	1.6	1.7	1.9	2.2	2.0	2.2	2.1	2.1
2018	2.1	2.2	2.4	2.5	2.8	2.9	2.9	2.7	2.3	2.5	2.2	1.9	2.4
2019	1.6	1.5	1.9	2.0	1.8	1.6	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.8	2.1	2.3	1.8
2020	2.5	2.3	1.5	0.3	0.1	0.6	1.0	1.3	1.4	1.2	1.2	1.4	1.2
2021	1.4	1.7	2.6	4.2	5.0	5.4	5.4	5.3	5.4	6.2	6.8	7.0	4.7
2022	7.5	7.9	8.5	8.3	8.6	9.1	8.5

And of course, Trump's last two years were with Democrat majorities in both the House and Senate.

But more to the point, the letter writer is unable to identify government fault in the inflation blame game, until he can draw Trump into it. So Biden didn't cause inflation, everything else is to blame. But Trump did cause inflation, and every other factor is irrelevant.

The colorblindness is palpable.)

How about some critical thinking and better research before accusing Biden and Democrats as the cause of inflation. Know that Republicans will hang their hats on any hatrack they make.