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This election season, Democrats have latched on to the issue of affordability, a problem that the Biden administration did much to cause and which the second Trump administration is working to correct. It is important for Americans to understand that price increases due to inflation do not return to old levels when the inflation rate decreases, they just continue to rise at a slower rate. The one saving grace is that from August 2025 to August 2026 wages grew 0.029% faster than inflation.
Critics and economists attributed the surge in inflation primarily to the Biden administration’s massive federal spending packages, arguing they overstimulated consumer demand when supply chains were crippled by the COVID pandemic. In defense, the Biden administration and liberal economists contended that inflation was primarily a global phenomenon triggered by COVID-19 supply chain bottlenecks, labor shortages, and the war in Ukraine. Those were contributing factors, but they were exacerbated by the administration's ill-conceived spending programs.
First was the American Rescue Plan enacted in March 2021, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package providing $1,400 direct payments to individuals, expanded unemployment benefits, and billions for state and local governments. Critics warned at the time that injecting this amount of capital into a recovering economy would create an excess of demand over supply, rapidly bidding up prices which was the case.
Next there was the grossly misnamed Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that was sold as an inflation-lowering measure through prescription drug pricing caps and deficit reduction. In reality the law authorized hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending for climate and clean energy initiatives. Critics felt the administration's focus on transitioning to green energy led to the unwise pausing of certain oil and gas leasing and the implementation of stricter environmental regulations stifled domestic fossil fuel production. They contend these policies directly exacerbated the spike in gasoline and natural gas prices.
When Biden took office, President Trump gifted him an inflation rate of 1.6%. By June of 2022 inflation stood at a forty year high of 9.1%. When Trump took office inflation stood at 3% and even now with the cost of a barrel of oil at around $100 inflation stands at 3.4%. If the cost of oil remained at prewar rates, inflation would now be around 2.7%.
Currently, the national average for the price of gasoline is $4.41 a gallon. Following the Yom Kippur War in the fall of 1973 gasoline was 58 cents a gallon equivalent to $3.60 in 2026 dollars if you could find a gas station with gasoline to sell. It got so bad that the federal government instituted a rationing system based on whether your license was an odd or even number. Even then you might sit in line for hours.
Often lost in stories concerning the so-called "affordability crises" is the fact that the U.S. economy is described as "robust” by economists. Our Gross Domestic Product continues to expand at a healthy annual pace, an indication of strong economic output. In fact, we continue to lead the world with a GDP of $32.8 Trillion. Another lost fact is that household incomes in the U.S. have reached record levels and consumer spending continues at high rates indicating that the consumer has confidence in the overall economy and has money to spend.
Other indications of the health of the economy are that the U.S. accounts for one-quarter of global economic output with this American dominance driven by corporate technological innovation, healthy financial markets and strong institutional stability.
Unfortunately, little to none of this positive news is reported by the national news including the three broadcast networks, CNN, MSNOW, and the Associated Press. The relationship between Donald Trump and the mainstream news media has been highly contentious since his 2016 campaign, leading to ongoing debates about fairness, objectivity, and the role of journalism. A study by the Media Research Center found that during major periods of Trump’s presidency, up to 92% of evening news coverage on broadcast networks was negative. Critics see this as evidence that major networks consistently focus on controversies while downplaying positive developments, such as economic policies or legislative successes.
What are the reasons for this? First the national media leans to the left because of background, associations and education. Much of the bias is further blamed on a desire to increase ratings and readership. It's just business we are told. While the national media should play an adversarial role, when necessary, it appears that by crafting stories to attract an audience the press is more engaged in a form of propagandizing rather than reporting the news.
Finally, I believe that the media's negative reporting on the war with Iran added and abetted by Democratic politicians who appear to hope we will lose the war is unhelpful. As I have written previously after kicking the can down the road for the last 47 years a president has had the courage to tell the Iranian regime that you will never have a nuclear weapon because you cannot be trusted. Currently Iran has missiles with a range of 2,000 miles that already pose a threat to the Middle East and much of Europe. That is a self-imposed range limit, and experts are certain that Iran has the capability of building true Intercontinental Ballistic missiles capable of reaching North America.
Keep all these facts in mind on election day. Gas prices are high, but the economy is strong and growing and our President is fighting a war that must be fought and won.
Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com