WaPo personal finance columnist: Just stop complaining about inflation

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Michelle Singletary, a personal finance columnist for the Washington Post scolded concerned Americans during an appearance on MSNBC. Just stop complaining and take it easy, y’all. Bidenflation isn’t so bad. You’re just exaggerating how bad it is in your life.

Advertisement

Who better to understand regular Americans and their budgets than a columnist for the Washington Post? The arrogance and disconnect are cringeworthy. She was asked by MSNBC anchor Chris Jansing about a poll that shows 38 percent of Americans “say they would rather see a recession than the inflation we’re dealing with.” The poll was conducted by Politico and Morning Consult.

“I read that to mean more than a third of Americans are so pressed by what they’re having to pay for gas, for food, everyday items, rent, that they’d rather see a recession. Is there where we are right now?” Jansing asked.

“Overall, many Americans aren’t suffering as much as they think they are and we can think things into existence because we are unrealistically fearful of something that hasn’t happened yet,” the paper’s personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary said during a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC. “We don’t know if we’re in a recession yet.”

She tried to link wealth inequality to her ramble while saying if you did well in the stock market over the last couple of years and still have your job, you’re fine. Calm down and back off.

“You know, I’m just gonna say this, and if I get banged for it, I don’t care,” Singletary said. “There is a great deal of Americans where it is uncomfortable that they are spending more, but they’re not gonna go under. You know, you’ve got to stop complaining when there’s so many people who literally the inflation rate means they may only have two meals instead of three.”

Singletary framed the debate in the context of wealth inequality within the United States – with half the country legitimately facing a financial crunch due to the higher cost of necessities and the other half irrationally concerned about inflation.

Advertisement

What are you going to believe – your shrinking retirement fund balance or the sage wisdom coming from a Washington Post columnist who thinks Biden is doing a swell job? She said that people with concerns over recession are “unnecessarily bleak.” Keep in mind, she is a personal finance columnist. She is suppose to know about economics and money, right? The chairman of the Federal Reserve would likely disagree with her. He talks like he sees a recession right around the corner. Some economists say we’re already there. In other words, buckle up and get ready as best as you can. It’s going to get ugly out there.

Imagine saying that the “Biden administration is doing whatever it can to help Americans.” That’s top level partisan hackery. Even those of us without expertise in economics know that he is doing very little to help Americans. If he wanted to help, he’d have corrected his bone-headed energy policies months ago. He would stop with the gimmicks like a federal gas tax holiday and stop depleting the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He would stop belittling private industry and discouraging private investments. He would concentrate on getting the kinks out of the supply chain and demand that Mayor Pete get out and get delivery trucks moving.

There is a malaise in this country not seen since the days of Jimmy Carter. He told us all to just throw on a sweater and turn down our thermostats. I never thought I would see a worse president in my lifetime, yet here we are.

Advertisement

I suppose it’s easy for a Washington Post columnist to toss out such bon mots as stop complaining when she isn’t worrying about meeting a payroll for a small business or sitting down and worrying about paying for groceries and filing up the car’s gas tank. A lot of families are already having to cut some expenses in order to pay the monthly bills. Families are facing postponing vacations this summer after being cooped up at home during the pandemic, or telling their child they won’t be able to swing the summer camp fees. Real people with real concerns. They aren’t just imagining it. Salaries are not keeping up with Bidenflation. And, shrinkflation at the grocery store isn’t helping. Buying less at the same price as the former quantity doesn’t help the meal planner in the family.

Perhaps Ms. Singletary should sit down and think about what she is saying. Or, better yet, get out and talk to regular people with regular jobs. They would be able to give her an earful.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement