Peach Tree Times

Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga) and the Georgia congressional delegation were mum on the growing concern inflation will have on wages when approached on the subject.

The Peach Tree Times reached out to Georgia Reps. Andrew Clyde (R), Austin Scott (R), Barry Loudermilk (R), Buddy Carter (R), Carolyn Bordeaux (D), Drew Ferguson (R), David Scott (D), Hank Johnson (D), Jody Hice (R), Lucy McBath (D), Nikema Williams (D), Rick Allen (R), Sanford Bishop (D), along with Greene and Sens. Jon Ossoff (D) and Raphael Warnock (D) on their opinion of inflation.

None of the lawmakers would give their take on the growing concern of inflation in the state.

Inflation has steadily increased in the United States with ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, driven in part by supply and demand, and federal efforts to support an economy reeling from the pandemic's impact beyond public health concerns, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The bureau reported that the consumer price index (CPI) had spiked to 5.4% over the course of a year through July. Among the inflation noted in the CPI were resources critical to Americans including food (3.4%), energy (23.8%), and used vehicles (41.7%).

Former President Barack Obama, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, and Harvard economist Jason Furman helped to author a report in the Peterson Institute for International Economics that found that inflation has regressed much of the wage gains that Americans have obtained dating back to the Trump administration.

In an opinion piece for The Hill, Kristin Tate – libertarian writer and an analyst for Young Americans for Liberty – said there are two significant forces contributing to current inflation: “Money printing by the Federal Reserve” and “massive government spending.”

Tate added the growing inflation was “Biden’s hidden tax on working Americans.”

Economist Stephen Moore told John Solomon Reports that inflation “the most regressive tax out there.”

The recent passage of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill had one of its authors, majority leader Chuck Schumer, and other Senate Democrats, saying the bill would be "fully paid for", however, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that the bill would contribute $256 billion to the federal deficit over 10 years, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In an Aug. 11 tweet, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV)  expressed his concerns on $3.5 trillion in additional spending.

When it came to Manchin's concerns, Schumer told reporters,, "Some are worried about inflation. The way you deal with that, according to economists, is to make sure we pay for it. We intend to pay for it."

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board said that the only way Congress could cover those funds would be through additional tax hikes that are likely to happen.

Inflation trends won’t come close to previous periods of inflation, according to Mark Vitner, a senior economist for Wells Fargo’s Corporate and Investment Bank.

“Most of the run up in inflation that we are seeing is due to some temporary supply shortages and bottlenecks in the supply process because one or two key parts are messing, such as semi-conductor chips,” Vitner told The Business Journal.