Nevadans speak to CNN, express concerns about inflation
Prices have risen 7% over the past year to the highest level since 1982, but Nevada Democrats like Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford still stand by voting for their reckless spending spree that has stoked inflation and caused Nevadans to tighten their budgets.
It’s why they’ll be out of a job next January.
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‘It’s getting worse every time’: Inflation concerns could spell trouble for Democrats
Maeve Reston and Stephen Collinson
CNN
January 13, 2022
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/13/politics/joe-biden-democrats-inflation-midterm-elections/index.html
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The deprivation felt in a swing state like Nevada, which is home to a key Senate race this year, and across the nation reflects the unpromising environment for Democrats trying to maintain control of Congress. It also raises questions about the legislative priorities of their narrow Senate and House majorities. The situation is not without irony, since Biden placed improving the lives of American workers at the center of his agenda.
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The reality Democrats may be missing is that people are hurting right now. There’s nothing more fundamental than struggling to feed a family. Voter testimony in Nevada recalls the evidence in the Virginia gubernatorial race when Republican Glenn Youngkin pulled off a shock win by actually listening to what voters were saying about education and the cost of groceries, while Democrats were running against the extremism of ex-President Trump.
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Even some Nevada Democrats still loyal to Biden expressed frustration with what they view as their party’s inability to explain its accomplishments over the last year. Mark Weinberger, a 74-year-old retired dentist from Reno, described Biden’s communication as “piss poor.”
“Biden needed to communicate more of what he accomplished, and what he did, but none of that has been out,” Weinberger said.
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Many economic experts argue that rising inflation can largely be explained by the extreme circumstances of the pandemic. Supply chains are clogged — as factories in Asia close amid waves of infections and transportation seizes up in ports and rail yards. Americans stuck at home for months have money to burn, further injecting demand into the economy and hiking prices.
But some voters in Nevada are convinced that by pumping trillions of public money into the economy with spending bills, Democrats caused soaring prices — a view being amplified by Republicans.
Jessica Morrison, a 41-year-old independent and single mom, thinks Democrats “jumped the gun” with their Covid relief package last year and “gave the aid too fast” — leading her to believe that caused the prices of everyday items to soar.
“I don’t think we needed it then,” she said of the government aid, arguing that she could do with the help now with goods hard to find and prices higher. “We did all this stuff, and everybody scaled back and now no one knows what to do. Pure chaos,” Morrison said.
It’s not unusual to find a contradiction between the lived experience of working Americans and the dry analysis of economic data. But politically, it doesn’t matter whether it is true that aid packages over cranked the economy. If enough voters believe that is the case, the damage could be incalculable for Biden, and to Democrats who face a long-shot battle to keep control of the House and the Senate.
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Read the full article, here.