“The harsh reality for many Americans is that it is unlikely they will ever regain the purchasing power they lost under the Biden administration.”
On January 29, Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) President and CEO Tarren Bragdon testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging in a hearing titled “Making Washington Work for Seniors: Fighting to End Inflation and Achieve Fiscal Sanity.”
Bragdon points to three policy failures from the Biden administration that have led to a cost-of-living crisis for everyone in America, but especially seniors:
- A massive spike in federal regulations, which has both increased government spending and imposed new costs on businesses and consumers
- An illegal and unprecedented increase in food stamp benefits that has directly contributed to rising grocery prices
- Unsustainable expansions of federal welfare programs that have caused spending to explode while keeping able-bodied adults out of the workforce
The damage has been done, but to address these failures and wind them back, Congress has several reform opportunities available under the unified Republican government, including welfare program integrity measures like work requirements and rolling back Biden’s unilateral, massive increase of the food stamp program that led to skyrocketing food prices.
Key Points:
- When Biden took office, annual inflation was just 1.3 percent, spiking to 9.1 percent by June 2022. By the end of 2024, prices had grown more than 21 percent under President Biden. The year-over-year price increase of some goods and services—from food to energy to vehicles—reached double digits at its peak in 2022.
- For every 15 percent increase in federal regulations, the cost of consumer goods and services is hiked by a full percentage point.
- The Biden administration’s expansion of the regulatory state added $1.7 trillion worth of new costs.
- Food prices increase by one percent for every 12.5 percent increase in food stamp spending.
- Increases in the food stamp program caused grocery prices to skyrocket by more than 15 percent.
Key Quote:
“The inflationary legacy of the Biden administration has done irreparable harm to all Americans. This damaging outcome is the direct result of conscious policy decisions to increase the size and scope of the regulatory state, expand the food stamp program in an unprecedented manner, and make other reckless changes to major federal welfare programs. Only by undoing these policy changes can lawmakers improve prosperity for all Americans.”
Read the full written testimony here.
