The United States is at an almost 40-year high for the rate of inflation. According to The Guardian, the US inflation rate has increased 6.8% over the last year. This is the highest increase since 1982. Because of this increase, we are now paying more and more for everyday items. Notice those high gas prices? Yeah, you can thank inflation for that.

So what causes inflation? Inflation simply means that prices go up, and the value of the U.S. dollar goes down. It is caused by a rise in the overall level of prices for goods and services consumed by households. Typically price increases in “standard” goods such as food, gas, electricity, etc. are much more noticeable because those goods are everyday items bought by pretty much every consumer in the country.

Inflation falls into two major categories: ‘demand-pull’ inflation and ‘cost-push’ inflation (or ‘stagnation’).

‘Demand-pull’ inflation is when the government stimulates the economy by increasing the money supply. This creates more money “chasing” the same amount of goods and services. Companies increase their output because of a higher demand, and in turn they make more money. This then increases growth and employment, which causes them to raise their prices and workers demand higher wages, thus causing inflation.

‘Cost push’ (stagnation) is caused by changes in cost base, not demand. Limited availability of materials needed to produce goods forces prices higher. This is almost always a worse form of inflation because it raises prices without necessarily increasing demand.

Guess who is responsible for our economy’s recent inflation? Yeah, that’s right: it’s President Biden.

It’s because of the massive supply chain problems occurring in our country since the pandemic that have only worsened under President Biden. A major culprit in our supply chain shortages is indeed the lack of workers, and the policies of the President and his administration aren’t helping to encourage people to work. Unemployed people are refusing to go back to work because they are literally being fed by the government. Companies must compete for a shrinking pool of workers by increasing wages which increases the companies’ cost—costs which are offset by increasing prices. Plus, fewer workers combined with other supply-chain problems mean less production; less production means companies raise prices leading to inflation.

In addition to worker shortages, President Biden’s motion to shut down construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline on his first day in office was the first event in the downward spiral of the U.S. financial situation. Stopping the pipeline construction triggered a dramatic gas price spike over the past year. According to Forbes, the highest average gas price under President Trump was $2.80/gallon in 2018, compared to the price of gas today in Pennsylvania averaging about $3.21/gallon. Stopping the Keystone XL Pipeline project eliminated roughly 1,000 jobs in the U.S. and Canada. That’s about 1,000 more people now being fed off of the government, and where does that money come from? Tax increases, gas price increases, and really any price increase caused by inflation.

President Biden’s campaign slogan was ‘Build Back Better,’ but what is he really building back better when he is destroying American jobs, raising prices of everyday goods, and diminishing American energy independence?

Let’s be real: over the past year, President Biden and his administration have done more economic harm than good for our country. The American image is deteriorating on the world stage because of the man who was elected into office. The world sees it; Americans see it too. We need a President who will work to strengthen America, not weaken it.