Democrats weep crocodile tears about tariffs, but ignore how taxes, regulations, and government spending raise costs
I have never seen such simple-minded ignorance when I see most of the media and other Democrats talk about the economy, including basic economic knowledge.
Take tariffs.
Democrats just repeat the mantra of how the consumer pays 100% of the tariff and how much the tariffs cause "inflation."
What is the price of roses per kilogram/pound in Colombia today?
The retail price range for Colombia roses is between US$ 2.20 and US$ 8.54 per kilogram or between US$ 1.00 and US$ 3.87 per pound(lb)
So a 25% tariff would be between 25 cents and a few dollars, and not the $20-plus that the public was told.
Republicans have floated stiffer work requirements for welfare programs and fixing the accounting gimmicks that states use to scam more federal Medicaid dollars. Good ideas. By our calculation, simply returning to pre-pandemic Medicaid spending levels, adjusted for inflation, could generate more than $1.4 trillion in savings over a decade.
In particular, Mr. Biden and the Democrats used the pandemic as an excuse to turn Medicaid into another entitlement for the middle class. Congress finally ended the pandemic expansions in spring 2023. Yet there are still about 10 million more people on Medicaid than before Covid. Annual federal and state spending on the program has grown by 60% to $963 billion—more than the U.S. now spends on national defense.
Jared Bernstein (born December 26, 1955)[1][2] is an American government official who is the chair of the United States Council of Economic Advisers. He is a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.[3] From 2009 to 2011, Bernstein was the chief economist and economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden in the Obama administration.[4] In 2008, Michael D. Shear described Bernstein as a progressive and "a strong advocate for workers".[5]In February 2023, President Joe Biden nominated Bernstein to serve as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.[6] He was confirmed to be chair on June 13, 2023.[7] He was ceremonially sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on July 10, 2023.[8]
Bernstein grew up in a musical family wanting to be a musician, starting a band with friends.[9] Bernstein graduated with a bachelor's degree in music from the Manhattan School of Music where his first double bass teacher was Orin O'Brien. Throughout the '80s, Bernstein was a mainstay on the jazz scene in New York City.[citation needed] He is of Jewish descent.[10]
He also earned a Master of Social Work from Hunter College as well as a Doctor of Social Work in social welfare from Columbia University's school of social work in 1994.[11][12] At Columbia, his dissertation advisor was Irwin Garfinkel.[13]
So he was essentially a social worker with no educational background in economics or finance and no business experience. He worked for a liberal think tank. He was confirmed by the Senate. So Democrats should shut up when they complain about Trump's nominees being unqualified.