What it means to be a Republican
Politics and personalities aside, it’s time to determine what’s in the best interest of us and our families because we are subject to the policies of our elected officials.
While we are a politically divided nation and state, we all share basic concerns about our families and our standard of living here in the First State.
Below are some stark differences between our standard of living between January 2021
and June 2022. The cost of oil and gas began rising on the first day of the Biden administration when he shut down the pipeline and canceled thousands of leases. It wasn’t until 13 months later that Russia invaded Ukraine, further restricting supplies.
|
|
January 2020
|
June 2022
|
|
A gallon of gasoline
|
$2
|
$5 (diesel $5.80)
|
|
Inflation
|
1.1%
|
8.1%
|
|
Cost of food
|
1.1
|
8.8
|
|
Heating Fuel & Natural Gas
|
|
Up 100%
|
Heating Fuel and Natural Gas: (From CNN 10/28/21). “US households that rely on natural gas for heating will spend an average of $746 to heat their homes this winter, up 30% from last winter, according to the Energy Information Administration. Retail natural gas prices are expected to hit the highest levels since the winter of 2005-2006. Natural gas futures have spiked 132% so far this year, recently touching levels unseen since 2008. Industry experts warn that natural gas futures, and retail prices, could go even higher if it's a very cold winter and Americans are forced to crank up the furnace.” The White House recently warned more financial pain is coming.
Crime is up across the nation & state, with woke prosecutors declining to charge offenders.
Our Border: More than 2,000,000 people from more than 110 nations with no legal right to be here have crossed our southern border. All of us are paying for their housing, medical care, food, education and transportation to our cities and towns – while our federal and state officials remain silent about details. The arrivals include gang and cartel members involved in human trafficking and smuggling of illegal drugs that have killed an estimated 100,000 U.S. citizens. Others are on the terror no-fly list and may be trained in sabotage of our electric, water and transportation network and communications system if called upon by their state sponsors. Sept 11, 2001, only took 19 operatives in four aircraft.
Military and Foreign Affairs: Under the previous administration withdrawal from Afghanistan was a planned evacuation with no American troops lost in the previous 18 months. Despite warnings from his generals to delay the evacuation of our military until our civilian and military assets were out, President Biden reversed the process and abandoned hundreds of Afghanis, some $87 Billion of military equipment and lost 13 military men and women in a terrorist attack.
Ukraine: According the liberal LA Times, (Jan 20, 2022) “The White House on Thursday sought to clarify remarks by President Biden about the consequences of a ‘minor incursion’ by Russia into Ukraine that appeared to undermine weeks of intense U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at stopping an invasion of the former Soviet republic.” We know what happened.
Out of Control Spending: Economics 101 teaches that when money is printed it devalues the overall currency supply, making things more expensive, as shown below. If two Democrats from other states hadn’t voted against it, Sens. Carper and Coons would have voted to print an additional $5 Trillion of new money for the New Green Deal.
Cost of living increases just during the past year: (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
“In almost every corner of the economy, costs are on the rise. However, some categories of goods and services are growing faster than others. There are also a select few categories that are becoming less expensive. Below are recent figures from the March 2022 Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).”
-
Between March 2021 and March 2022, the all items index increased 8.5%, before seasonal adjustment. It marks the largest 12-month increase since the period ending in December of 1981.
-
The price of gas increased significantly in March 2022. The gasoline index was up more than 18% percent over the month. Gas price inflation accounted for more than half of the all items index monthly increase.
-
The food index increased 8.8% between March 2021 and March 2022, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending in May of 1981.
-
Grocery store prices are also rising. The food index increased 1% percent in March 2022 and the food at home index increased 1.5%. Restaurant prices have increased, but not as significantly. The food away from home index rose 0.3% in March.
-
The combined index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs increased nearly 14% between March 2021 and March 2022. One of the biggest increases was for beef, which increased 16% over the last year.
-
The cost of airfare has gone up in 2022. The index for airline costs increased 10.7% in March, after rising 5.2% in February.
-
Healthcare costs in the U.S. are getting more expensive. In March 2022, the medical care index increased 0.5% in March, which also includes a .05% increase in the index for physicians’ services. However, the index for prescription drugs fell 0.2% in March.
-
The CPI shows that used car prices may finally be dropping. The index for used cars and trucks fell 3.8% in March. This is the second consecutive monthly decline following many months of cost increases.
-
The shelter index, which measures costs associated with housing, increased 5% over the last year, which is the biggest 12-month increase since May 1991.
-
The index for household furnishings and operations grew by more than 10% over the past year. It was the biggest 12-month increase since the period ending in July of 1975.
None of this addresses unforeseen supply chain problems that have resulted in recent shortages in baby formula.
What’s next?
National policies trickle down to state and local policies. Unless you want more of the same for the next two years, it’s time for a change, especially of our single Congressional representative who has voted 100 percent in line with our national, “It’s not my fault,” Biden administration.
