Mark Kelly’s latest campaign advertisement trying to explain away his role in causing inflation and gas prices to skyrocket for his constituents repeats debunked lies about which economists say: “those who engage in that reasoning should be taken less seriously as a consequence” and that it is “unequivocally wrong and confused” and a “conspiracy theory… infecting the Democratic Party.”
- In March 2022, Larry Summers called the Democrat argument that price-gouging corporations are responsible for inflation “ridiculous” and said “those who engage in that reasoning should be taken less seriously as a consequence.” (“Transcript: Ezra Klein Interviews Larry Summers,” The New York Times, 3/29/22)
- SUMMERS: “I just don’t think that is supported by any serious understanding of how the business process works.” (“Transcript: Ezra Klein Interviews Larry Summers,” The New York Times, 3/29/22)
- SUMMERS: “Does it make any sense at all to blame inflation on market power? No. That’s not serious economic reasoning and the judgments and forecasts of those who engage in that reasoning should be taken less seriously as a consequence.” (“Transcript: Ezra Klein Interviews Larry Summers,” The New York Times, 3/29/22)
- FURMAN: “Corporate power is playing likely a very small role in the inflation that we’re seeing right now.” (Molly Smith and Erik Wasson, “Democrats’ ‘Greedflation’ Claims Run Up Against Scant Evidence,” Bloomberg, 5/19/22)
- In May 2022, Furman tweeted that Congressional Democrats’ “greedflation” argument is “unequivocally wrong & confused.” (Jason Furman Tweet, 5/15/22)
- REICH: “Nobody believes that price gouging is the main cause of inflation.” (Molly Smith and Erik Wasson, “Democrats’ ‘Greedflation’ Claims Run Up Against Scant Evidence,” Bloomberg, 5/19/22)
- OZIMEK: “It’s a huge distraction from focusing on the real issues that are driving inflation.” (Molly Smith and Erik Wasson, “Democrats’ ‘Greedflation’ Claims Run Up Against Scant Evidence,” Bloomberg, 5/19/22)
- “It’s just cheap talk, so Democrats can show they’re Doing Something about inflation.” (Catherine Rampell, Op-Ed, “An inflation conspiracy theory is infecting the Democratic Party,” The Washington Post, 5/12/22)
- “…this ‘greedflation’ narrative has persuaded both policymakers and the public to misdiagnose the problem’s causes.” (Catherine Rampell, Op-Ed, “An inflation conspiracy theory is infecting the Democratic Party,” The Washington Post, 5/12/22)
- Op-Ed: “An inflation conspiracy theory is infecting the Democratic Party” (Catherine Rampell, Op-Ed, “An inflation conspiracy theory is infecting the Democratic Party,” The Washington Post, 5/12/22)
The reality is, Mark Kelly’s votes for reckless spending in Washington kickstarted the inflationary spiral we find ourselves in. And his continued hostility to American energy production undermined domestic supply that would have helped alleviate the gas price crunch.
It’s not surprising Kelly wants to deflect blame from this crisis – Phoenix is one of the worst-affected metro areas in the country by inflation, with CPI reaching 12.3% for his constituents just last month. And gas prices remain astronomically high, with the average price per gallon over $4.50 in Arizona this week.
“Arizonans deserve better than deflections, finger pointing, and outright lies from their Senator on an issue they’re begging for relief from. It’s increasingly clear Democrats like Mark Kelly have no plan to address rising costs – and the only way to change course is to boot them out of office.” -SLF Communications Director Jack Pandol