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The political impact of inflation may rival its economic impact. We all know that inflation can devastate savings and throw the economy into chaos as consumers, workers, and businesses grapple with unstable and escalating prices. But it has been long enough since we suffered from high inflation that its political consequences were on clear display.
On Tuesday, CNBC released the results of its quarterly small business survey. Unsurprisingly, 75 percent of small businesses said they were facing higher costs, up from 70 percent in the third quarter. Fifty-eight percent complained of supply chain problems. Inflation was cited as the top concern by 34 percent of small business owners, making it by far the top priority. Supply chain disruptions were a distant second, at 23 percent, and Covid-19 was down at 17 percent.
Politically, inflation has been devastating to Biden's support. Of course, Republican small business owners oppose Biden and give him high disapproval scores. Likewise, Democrats insist that everything will be just fine. But independents have switched positions. In the third quarter, 51 percent said they approved of Biden's job. Now that has fallen to just 33 percent.
Given this reality, it's no wonder that Team Biden has been sending out its mouthpieces to beg the establishment media for better coverage. They'd like more coverage of the employment situation, of course. The unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, is quite healthy and likely to keep improving. But even in the labor market there are reasons to worry, such as the fact that the workforce participation rate is still below its Trump era level.
We have no doubt that the establishment media would like to go along with Biden's pleas for more positive coverage. But it will not work. The evidence of inflation is seen every time an American steps into a grocery store or logs into their favorite e-commerce site. And even Fed officials now have given up on transitory inflation, acknowledging that escalating prices will be with us through next year. Which means Biden and the Democrats will likely be going into the midterm elections with a very big and very prominent inflation problem.
– Alex Marlow & John Carney
Breitbart News Network