Rep. Jim Bridenstine Warns Inflation Is Coming

Breitbart ^ | 03/06/2014 | Warner Todd Huston

[Rusty0604]

NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland—Freshman Congressman Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) warns that unless Washington fixes its spending and monetary policy, massive inflation is sure to come.

Speaking at the Breitbart News's "Univited II" National Security Action Summit, Congressman Bridenstine warned that a financial disaster is waiting just over the horizon unless Congress and the administration make reforms.

He also noted that Obama is failing to secure the border from dangerous drug cartels. He was critical of Obama's tendency to push social agendas over security and, like others at the conference, warned that budget cuts are seriously hampering our armed forces.

"Obama is holding national security hostage to some kind of social reform agenda," Rep. Bridenstine said.

Obama is doing the same to defense, Bridenstine said. "While Obama is holding drug policy hostage to a social agenda, we are also seeing him hold defense hostage to a social agenda."

Several things are hitting the economy all at once. "When you print money you artificially drive up the desire for bonds. We also see businesses refusing to borrow for growth because of Obamacare and other regulations," he said.

"A day is coming when all the money sitting on the sidelines will try to come back into the economy, and that will cause inflation," he said. This will cause interest rates to climb quickly. "We aren't talking about a one percent rise in interest rates, we're talking five percent or more" in a short time span.

[Obadiah]

Yeah, all well and good, but Republicans have a large majority in the House, you know, where all funding bills must start. At what point do Republicans actually use that large majority to leverage something, anything, ever?

[Buckeye McFrog]

Coming?

Drop by and allow me to take you down the road and show you the fifteen dollar packages of ground beef, Congressman.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Has Bridenstein been to the Kroger lately? Or the gas station?

[Rusty0604]

When the gov’t measures inflation they don’t give much weight to minor things like food and energy. And they blame the price of food increase on droughts caused by global warming.

[Grams A]

Is coming? It’s already here for the most basic items. We need to take these guys to the grocery store.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I can see the government’s point. Prices for sealing wax and shower curtain rings have barely budged.

[PubliusMM]

“A day is coming when all the money sitting on the sidelines will try to come back into the economy, and that will cause inflation...”

The 800# gorilla in the room. All that cash hitting the economy will burst this bubble of false recovery. The rate of inflation will skyrocket, no doubt.

And still the pubbies fiddle while the economy burns.

[DownInFlames]

Ahem, doesn’t he know the HOUSE controls the purse strings?

[Soul of the South]

Inflation has been escalating since 2008 in the following categories:
1) Food - both grocery stores and eating out
2) Energy - gasoline and electric bills
3) Medical insurance and medical care

Of course #1 and #2 have been eliminated from the CPI.

[Grams A]

And I will add a #4 - Homeowner’s insurance and real estate and school taxes.

We have just almost quit eating out. Food doesn’t seem as good, particularly considering the cost. Just don’t understand why food and energy have been eliminated when computing the CPI. Those are the two things that everyone I know has to deal with, regardless of where they live or their income.

[Wyatt's Torch]

Interesting because he outlines exactly where there isn't any inflation currently:

1) We also see businesses refusing to borrow for growth

2) when all the money sitting on the sidelines will try to come back into the economy

That is why monetary velocity is at a record low.

Here is what Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said about monetary and fiscal policy:

"It is my firm belief that the fault in our economy lies not in monetary policy but in a feckless federal government that simply cannot get its fiscal and regulatory policy geared so as to encourage business to take the copious amount of money we at the Fed have created and put it to work creating jobs and growing our economy. Fiscal policy is not only “not an ally of U.S. growth,” it is its enemy. If the fiscal and regulatory authorities that you elect and put into office to craft taxes, spending and regulations do not focus their efforts on providing incentives for businesses to expand job-creating capital investment rather than bicker with each other for partisan purposes, our economy will continue to fall short and the middle-income worker will continue being victimized, no matter how much money the Fed prints."

Now the trick to unwinding QE will be timing. Yellen will have to get it right. But give me inflation over deflation any day.

[Rusty0604]

Inflation is good for people that have a lot of debt, deflation is good for people that have cash.

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

The Congressman obviously doesn’t shop for his own groceries. Inflation has been with us for several years now.