Politicians don't like inflation because inflation irritates voters, and few things are more terrifying to politicians looking to stay on the public payroll than an irritated voter in an election year.
Imagine how surprising it is to read, then, how those same politicians are behind the higher prices we pay for an array of goods and services. As Cato's Scott Lincicome writes, the meddling of politicians left, right, and center is behind some of the inflation we see at the grocery store. Take the example of beef:
…the price of which has increased by more than 30 percent since 2020. Last December, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced—after conducting two onsite health and safety audits in 2021 and 2022—that the United States would resume allowing fresh beef imports from Paraguay, a relatively small player in the global beef market. (Imports had been banned years ago because of concerns regarding foot‐and‐mouth disease, but Paraguay has been FMD‐free for more than a decade.) This new competition apparently didn't sit well with 13 U.S. senators from beef‐producing states, so they sponsored legislation to override the USDA decision and ban all Paraguayan beef from the U.S. market. The resolution passed the Senate in March by a depressingly lopsided 70–25 vote, despite strong White House resistance in part on national security grounds. (Paraguayan beef exports had been hit by Russia and China because of the government's position on Ukraine and Taiwan, respectively.) As Roll Call notes, politics—not science—played a big role in the Senate: “Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection this year, sponsored the resolution,” and “Tester's resolution has some influential lobbying clout behind it, including the American Farm Bureau Association and National Cattlemen's Beef Association.” (They, of course, applauded the vote.)
Funny how protectionism and the mad desire of politicians to get re-elected trump just about everything – including passing legislation that will juice inflation.
But such behavior isn't reserved for food alone. It applies to metals (steel and aluminum are long-time favorites for protectionist tariffs), cars, shoes, toys, semiconductors, and many, many more.
Yet despite the inflation protectionism generates, no matter the income it robs from the many and transfers to the politically connected few, and pays no attention to the jobs and income protectionism destroys, there will always be a market for more tariffs, barriers, scarcity, and shoddier products.
The reason is that the benefits of protection are concentrated. A few people make out like bandits. The costs? They are dispersed over a mass of people who are hard to organize and even harder to educate on just how much protectionism affects their personal finances.
Except when all that protection leads to inflation. That's when politicians start pointing at everyone and everything (except their own actions and policies) to blame for higher prices.
Here's looking at you, Mr. Biden.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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