House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defied basic economics on Friday, claiming that increased government spending is “reducing national debt” — not contributing to the economic crisis.
What is the background?
The Biden administration began last week blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for growing economic problems, despite inflation and gas prices being issues before Russia invaded Ukraine.
The shifting blame game comes as President Joe Biden begins a renewed push to revive his social spending agenda, which was killed last year when Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) refused to support it. Deflecting blame for economic woes is a strategic political move because a majority of voters believe the economy is heading in the wrong direction and believe Republicans can fix it.
What did Pelosi say?
Speaking at the 2022 House Democratic Issues Conference on Friday, Pelosi regurgitated the Biden administration’s talking points blaming Putin for domestic economic problems that existed before last month.
Then Pelosi defied basic economic sense by claiming that spending more money, referring to the Build Back Better Act, lowers debt.