Today is the one year anniversary of Democrats’ so-called “American Rescue Plan” being signed into law. Billed as a transformative COVID relief bill necessary to save the country, in reality it’s proven a budget-busting liberal wish list that turbocharged the inflationary pressures still hurting families today. Many liberal Democrats, former Obama Administration economists, and liberal journalists agree: the law was a “serious error” and the “original sin” that “contributed to once-in-a-generation inflation.”
Here are the reviews:
In February 2022, Larry Summers said ARP was “a serious error” that “set the stage for the inflation.” (Rich Miller and Laura Davison, “Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Win on Covid Aid Hobbles Rest of Agenda,” Bloomberg, 2/28/22)
In February 2022, WaPo columnist Catherine Rampell wrote: “Now, the further we get from enactment, the worse the legislation’s extra flab looks. The problem isn’t only that large chunks of the bill were wasteful and contributed to once-in-a-generation inflation…” (Catherine Rampell, Op-Ed, “Build Back Better is ‘dead,’ says Manchin. He’s not the only one to blame.” The Washington Post, 2/3/22)
In February 2022, Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, said “Inflation did accelerate and people did link it back to the ARP and those policies, and connected the dots and said they did not want additional support for the economy.” (Rich Miller and Laura Davison, “Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Win on Covid Aid Hobbles Rest of Agenda,” Bloomberg, 2/28/22)
In November 2021, Former Obama administration official Jason Furman said, “The original sin was an oversized American Rescue Plan” that “contributed to both higher output but also higher prices.” (Jim Tankersley, “Rising Prices, Once Seen as Temporary, Threaten Biden’s Agenda,” The New York Times, 11/10/21)
In November 2021, Obama economic advisor Steven Rattner said that the American Rescue plan has “contributed materially to today’s inflation levels” and called the $1.9 trillion spending plan the “original sin.” “The original sin was the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, passed in March. The bill — almost completely unfunded — sought to counter the effects of the Covid pandemic by focusing on demand-side stimulus rather than on investment. That has contributed materially to today’s inflation levels.” (Steven Rattner, Op-Ed, “I Warned the Democrats About Inflation,” The New York Times, 11/16/21)
In February 2022, Bloomberg reported that economists and former public officials are saying that ARP “contributed to a sustained pace of high inflation.” (Rich Miller and Laura Davison, “Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Win on Covid Aid Hobbles Rest of Agenda,” Bloomberg, 2/28/22)
In January 2022, Brian Riedl, an economic policy expert at the Manhattan Institute, said ARP’s “surge in spending is a key driver of higher prices faced by consumers.” (Brian Riedl, “Stop the Spending;” Jeff Stein and Rachel Siegel, “What should the White House do to combat inflation? Experts weighed in with 12 ideas.” The Washington Post, 1/26/22)
- Op-Ed: “The Worst Spending Bill in Decades?” (Brian Riedl, Op-Ed, “The Worst Spending Bill in Decades?” National Review, 12/8/21)
- “The American Rescue Plan continues to drive inflation and economic damage. (Brian Riedl, Op-Ed, “The Worst Spending Bill in Decades?” National Review, 12/8/21)
- “More than eight months after its enactment, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) continues to reveal itself as the most damaging spending bill enacted in decades.” (Brian Riedl, Op-Ed, “The Worst Spending Bill in Decades?” National Review, 12/8/21)
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, ARP has had a “meaningful” impact on increasing inflation. (Regis Barnichon, Luiz E. Oliveira, and Adam H. Shapiro, “Is the American Rescue Plan Taking Us Back to the ’60s?” Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 10/18/21)
- Concord Monitor Op-Ed: “The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has noted that Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan directly created inflation.” (Vikram Mansharamani, Op-Ed, “Let’s repeal the inflation tax,” Concord Monitor, 1/31/22)
- CNN Headline: “Biden’s stimulus plan is fueling short-term inflation, SF Fed paper finds” (Matt Egan, “Biden’s stimulus plan is fueling short-term inflation, SF Fed paper finds,” CNN, 10/19/21)
- “President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is contributing to elevated inflation…” “President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is contributing to elevated inflation but it isn’t expected to overheat the economy, a new research paper from the San Francisco Federal Reserve concludes. The package signed into law in March included stimulus checks, enhanced unemployment benefits, small business loans, aid to state and local governments and relief for airlines designed to speed up the economic recovery following Covid-19 shutdowns.” (Matt Egan, “Biden’s stimulus plan is fueling short-term inflation, SF Fed paper finds,” CNN, 10/19/21)
- Fox Business Headline: “Biden’s stimulus plan fueling inflation surge, San Francisco Fed analysis shows” (Megan Henney, “Biden’s stimulus plan fueling inflation surge, San Francisco Fed analysis shows,” Fox Business, Updated 10/21/21)
- Yahoo! Headline: “Biden’s Stimulus Stoking the Flames of Inflation — Are Long-Term Effects Possible?” (Dawn Allcot, “Biden’s Stimulus Stoking the Flames of Inflation — Are Long-Term Effects Possible?” Yahoo!, 10/20/21)
“The long-term legacy of Democrats’ reckless spending spree is clear: it is the root cause of today’s inflationary tax meaning a dollar buys less than it has in decades. What’s worse: Democrats’ plan to combat inflation today is to repeat the same mistake, throwing good money after bad. The past year has clarified the only way to stop Democrats’ out-of-control spending is to take away their gavels and put Republicans in charge.” -SLF Communications Director Jack Pandol