The United States government has flooded the national economy with trillions of dollars to ostensibly cushion the blows from the coronavirus pandemic and ensure consumers would still be driving the country’s economic engine through the means of consumption. With a tsunami of fresh spending endeavors over the last two years, be it the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or handing out U.S. tax dollars to foreign countries, people are beginning to ask where the money went. In what appears to be an effort to shift responsibility for the crippling loss of billions of dollars, the Senate is about to embark on a hearing to figure out the “root causes” of price gouging and COVID cash fraud.
Stopping COVID-19 Fraud and Price Gouging
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security will host a hearing about “Stopping COVID-19 Fraud and Price Gouging” on Feb. 1. The purpose of the event is to assess a wide variety of scams and the prevalence of price gouging related to the coronavirus pandemic. It also aims to discuss educating consumers regarding these scams and talk about methods to enhance the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) enforcement against unscrupulous practices and unfair measures.
The hearing will involve Samuel Levine, the director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection; Teresa Murray, director of the Consumer Watchdog Office; and Mary Engle, the executive vice president (policy) at Better Business Bureau National Programs.
No Meat and All Potatoes
Perhaps these esteemed representatives will eventually tackle the dollars and cents of politicians wasting taxpayer resources in the name of combating COVID. Since the early days of the pandemic, Republicans and Democrats claimed that spending trillions of dollars by relying on deficits, borrowing from capital markets, and money-printing to pay for these astronomical schemes would be essential to ensure the nation did not fall off a fiscal cliff. While this might be a rational thought in times of panic, the inherent nature of the American people should immediately harken the voices of reason, reminding the people of other public policy blunders.
As more analysts, journalists, bureaucrats, and legislators comb through the unread thousands of pages of bills approved since the early days of the public health crisis, many are still scratching their heads at the real scams and wasteful spending that achieved bipartisan support. Here is just an appetizer for the waste that both parties passed throughout the pandemic:
- Two National Mall museums.
- $25 million for New York City art projects.
- $36 billion in wasted pandemic-era unemployment benefits.
- $2.5 million for so-called internet freedom.
- $101 million to fight “the transnational threat of wildlife poaching and trafficking.”
- $1.7 million for a Baltimore school without enrolled students.
- Tens of millions of dollars for Sacramento, CA to support the arts, cultural organizations, and tourism.
And, if officials are worried about price gougers, the politicians were the cause of the biggest increase in the cost of living in nearly four decades, thanks to deficit-financed outlays.
(Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Inflation to Keep the Dream Alive
Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden sent out stimulus checks in the mail to ensure out-of-work and non-producing Americans will continue to consume, a practice that represents two-thirds of the U.S. economy. The mandate to require people to stay home and maintain their spending patterns led to pent-up savings, astronomical demand when the economy reopened, a devalued U.S. dollar, and higher prices. The one-two punch of monetary relief and fiscal stimulus led to the consumer price index (CPI) soaring 7%. This reckless act led to the most significant price-gouge event that impacted 300 million Americans, not an unlucky few.
What Next?
Yes, scams should be investigated and resolved. Any time there is an instance of fraud, no matter how asinine it may appear to be, it needs to be shut down and the perpetrator needs to be held to account. However, nothing happens when government officials become engaged in ripping off consumers with outlandish spending plans, with considerable portions allocated to certain segments of the marketplace. Whether it is because nobody reads what is written inside the bills they vote on, or they believe their spending will improve conditions, the coronavirus pandemic led to a perfect situation whereby representatives and senators could spend more than ever before without being rebuked. Unfortunately, it is not only the current generation of taxpayers who will foot the bill. The Rs and Ds have price gouged future generations with the costly CARES Act, American Families Plan, and every other multi-billion-dollar stimulus and relief package boondoggles that are always the last one. That is until the next one.
~ Read more from Andrew Moran.
