Video shows House Dem dismissing inflation concerns as stemming from 'false advertisements'
Inflation is a tax on the poor, middle class: Gristedes CEO
John Catsimatidis, the billionaire owner and CEO of New York City supermarket chain Gristedes, argues the poor and middle class is getting ‘hurt’ by inflation, noting that increased oil prices leads to higher transportation and food costs.
House Democrats have encountered questions in recent months about rising consumer prices, with many suggesting the issue was temporary.
At least one Democrat, however, appeared to dismiss concerns altogether as the product of advertisements. America Rising PAC obtained footage of Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, plainly suggesting in July that a questioner was getting false information about inflation.
"Listen, I'll tell you what," said Axne at a July 6 town hall event. "Our economy is on a great track right now. I'm assuming you're talking about a lot of the false advertisements that are out there. You know what? Here's the deal. They're comparing any of the costs against last year. I'd say we had a few things increase because we were in the middle of COVID, so no, I'm not concerned about a false advertisement."
The audience member had asked: "Are you concerned about the rising gas prices and the rise in the cost of consumer goods here in Iowa and in America?"
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Axne's office did not respond to Fox News' request for comment. Her remarks came amid widespread concern about rising prices. A Fox News poll released at the end of June showed that 83% of voters worried about inflation, which also topped the list of economic concerns.
More recently, Americans saw an inflation rate of 5.4%, which was slightly higher than the year-over-year rate of wage growth in July.
Just prior to Axne's town hall, news surfaced that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) was targeting Axne and other Democrats with ads blaming rising prices on their spending in Congress.
"This year, your Fourth of July is more expensive because Democrats' harmful economic policies are making everyday goods cost more," a narrator says in an ad targeting Axne.
Although Republicans supported previous rescue packages, no House of Senate Republicans supported the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed by President Biden in March.
The tidal wave of money helped unleash inflation that has been absent since the 2008 financial crisis and has exacerbated a labor shortage that has made it more difficult to rectify the supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic.
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The national average for a gallon of gasoline is up $1.01 from a year ago to $3.18. Americans are also paying more for groceries, everyday staples and big-ticket items.
America Rising's footage shows other Democrats fielding similar questions but suggesting the rising prices were a temporary outcome of the coronavirus recovery. Some also emphasized the need to keep a close eye on spending.
"I think inflation is still going up quite slowly," said Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif., during a May 24 event. "I don't think we're at any risk of runaway inflation or anything like that … and part of that is actually not a bad thing. Part of that is just recognition that our economy is getting back on track."
He added that "of course we have to watch it very closely. We don't want inflation to get out of control … the best way to keep track of that is not just by watching it but also by watching government spending."
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"This is top of mind for me as well and for my colleagues in Congress," Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., said in a July 15 town hall event.
She added that "frankly, for anybody that has gone to the store recently, there are some notable upticks in prices on a variety of different types of goods … we are still in a transitory place as it relates to our economy. We are still recovering from the shutdowns related to COVID, and notably across different industries, we've seen different challenges – particularly as it relates to supply chain."
Spanberger also noted that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had addressed members of Congress on the issue. In June, Powell similarly said that the price increases were temporary.
Most of the price gains have occurred in categories such as used cars, airplane tickets and hotel rooms, Powell said, where demand has soared as the economy has quickly reopened, catching many companies flat-footed.
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"Those are things that we would look to, to stop going up and ultimately to start to decline as these situations resolve themselves," Powell said. "They don’t speak to a broadly tight economy — the kind of thing that has led to high inflation over time."
Powell acknowledged that "these effects have been larger than we expected" but said data indicated the country was headed in the right direction.
The Associated Press and FOX Business' Jonathan Garber contributed to this report.
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