Yes, Inflation Is Hard, but Elites Think We Don't Know How to Navigate It
Inflation is something that none of us needs reminders of. We see it every day, whether it’s at the gas pump or the grocery store. What’s most frustrating is that our elites in government and the media think that the majority of Americans are too stupid to figure out how to deal with it.
“Elites in government, industry, and the media expect all but the wealthiest Americans to sacrifice their savings and safety for a green agenda we don’t need or want while we ship billions to Ukraine for a war that the greed and corruption of our ruling class started,” Stacey wrote.
Stacey looked at the principles behind the article, so I thought we might look at the specifics of this Bloomberg piece, in which economics professor Teresa Ghilarducci is so earnest in her attempt to help all of us peons.
“First, you have to know your budget to control your budget,” Ghilarducci condescendingly declares after her overly long intro. “Budgeting takes effort, but it gives you power. And that power is even more important in inflationary times.”
Aren’t you glad your betters are looking down at you from the ivory tower to help you know how to take care of your money?
Now let’s look at the tweets that trumpeted this article.
Yes, Ghilarducci actually suggests selling your car and relying on public transportation to get everywhere. Like all elites, her default is that all of us poor, unwashed masses live in urban settings (she probably thinks we all live in slums).
Of course, the whole sell-your-car-and-take-the-bus strategy doesn’t do a thing for people who live in rural and many suburban areas, but that doesn’t matter. Nevertheless, it’s a slightly less stupid idea than Pete Buttigieg’s flippant “just buy an EV” plan.
My favorite quote when she suggests selling your car is the part where she declares, “Now may even be the time to sell your car. It certainly isn’t the time to buy a new or used one.” In other words, it’s a bad time for youto buy a car, but maybe you can convince some sucker to buy yours.
And then there’s the whole “eat lentils” thing. Actually, when you go into detail, Ghilarducci goes straight to the old lefty trope of going vegetarian.
“Meat prices have increased about 14% from February 2021 and will go up even more,” she writes. “Though your palate may not be used to it, tasty meat substitutes include vegetables (where prices are up a little over 4%, or lentils and beans, which are up about 9%). Plan to cut out the middle creature and consume plants directly. It’s a more efficient, healthier and cheaper way to get calories.”
In other words, do without, peasant. At least she didn’t try to talk us into eating bugs.
And about buying in bulk? Ghilarducci repeats the old saw about how you don’t really save that much by buying in bulk unless you “try to do it with a friend, so you can split some of the costs and ensure everything gets eaten or used.”
I picture most readers thinking, Don’t tell me how to shop! After all, buying some things in bulk can be a hedge against having to pay more for those things sooner rather than later as prices continue to rise.
And then there’s the bizarre paragraph about pet chemotherapy.
“If you’re one of the many Americans who became a new pet owner during the pandemic, you might want to rethink those costly pet medical needs,” she states. “It may sound harsh, but researchers actually don’t recommend pet chemotherapy — which can cost up to $10,000 — for ethical reasons.”
Wait, what? I can only imagine that most people would have the good sense to avoid expensive pet care when times are tight, no matter how much they love their four-legged family members. A veterinarian friend of mine told me that pet chemo isn’t a common treatment, even though it’s effective (and expensive). Regardless of what pet owners choose (or can afford) to do, Ghilarducci’s statement still sounds elitist and tone-deaf.
Ghilarducci wraps up her exercise in elite condescension with the hilarious notion that inflation is good for us. Much like MSNBC told us back in November that inflation is great because it’s a reflection of how good our government is to us, Ghilarducci now informs us that inflation helps us develop our brainpower!
“Try to be as flexible and creative as possible,” she cheerfully recommends. “Scientists tell us our brain plasticity will improve by trying novel things. There’s an advantage to mixing up what you consume to cope with unusual price spikes: You become more resilient as you create a locus of control and interrogate your habits.”
Think of how much better and smarter you’ll be as you sit and wait for the bus (because you’ve sold your car) and look forward to that hot, steaming plate of lentils that you’ll enjoy when you get off the bus (because who really needs a steak?). Just don’t think about how elites like Ghilarducci are probably not doing a thing differently because it’s only up to the peons to adjust to inflation.
Thankfully, we’re all able to think for ourselves and can come up with our own ways to battle inflation — including voting in November for representatives who are serious about finding a way out of this mess that the Biden administration and its elite buddies have gotten us into.