Silver State Times

Rising inflation is at the forefront of voters' minds as midterm elections approach.

Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, recently chastised President Joe Biden about his fiscal policy. Hanke complained on Twitter last week about "Bidenomics," a pejorative term used to describe the current president's fiscal policy as out of control.

"Bidenomics, which Treasury Secretary [Janet] Yellen (wrongly) dubbed 'modern supply-side economics,' has been a disaster," Hanke said in the Twitter post. "Biden's wild spending has fueled inflation and has set the U.S. up for a whopper of a recession. Bidenomics is for the birds."

Nevada Senate candidate Adam Laxalt (R) recently criticized his opponent, Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV,) for her failure to combat inflation.

"... She voted for every spending bill Biden wanted," Laxalt said in a Twitter post. "Now, inflation is rising, our economy is tanking, and gas and grocery prices are through the roof."

Prices in Nevada have risen 16% since January 2021, when Biden took office, according to a report by Joint Economic Committee Republicans. Families in Nevada must pay an extra $867 to achieve the same standard of living they had in January 2021, the report noted. Nevada is one of the top 10 states with the highest inflationary costs. A multitude of spending categories contribute to this number; transportation costs increased the most, as they cost families $309 more now than in January 2021.

Economists are on board with the idea that government spending was the catalyst for inflation, SmartAsset.com reported. This led to ongoing questioning of the Biden administration's fiscal policy.

Paige Terryberry, senior analyst for fiscal policy at the John Locke Foundation, argued that current levels of inflation were precipitated by the government injection of cash at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Economist used the term "Bidenomics" to refer to the president’s practice of stimulating the economy with large amounts of money. This policy choice was exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and is likely to be at the forefront of many voters' minds in the upcoming election, according to an article published by The Economist that its staff linked to on Twitter.

"Bidenomics may help to tackle two long­-term threats — but using protectionist policies to achieve its aims will cost both America and the world," The Economist staff said in the Twitter post.