President Joe Biden has made cracking down on “junk fees,” which he says are hurting Americans, a key part of his economic agenda, but experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the push is He said it was an attempt to distract from the real cause of the plight of the American people. Economic turmoil such as high inflation.
On Tuesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lowered As part of Mr. Biden's “junk fee” attack, he raised the cap on credit card late fees from $32 to $8, which he claimed would save Americans more than $10 billion a year. The president's actions on junk fees are unlikely to save Americans money in the long run and are ultimately intended to distract from larger economic problems such as stubbornly high inflation and high interest rates. It's one of many issues the administration is pushing, experts said. DCNF. (Related: Government jobs continue to expand under Biden administration as unemployment rate rises)
“The administration is committed to reducing the 40-year high of inflation that Americans have suffered as a result of Mr. They are looking at every possible way to avoid liability,'' Michael Faulkender, chief economist at the America First Institute, told DCNF. “Despite warnings from respected leftists like Larry Summers that Biden is implementing the “most irresponsible'' economic policies in the past 40 years, Democrats continue to believe that the government is advanced the progressive dream of controlling an ever-larger part of our lives.”
Under the Biden administration, inflation peaked at 9.1% year-on-year in June 2022, but has since been unable to slow to below 3% and has been at 3.1% since then. Since the president first took office in January 2021, overall prices have increased by a total of 18%.
In response to high inflation, the Fed raised the federal funds rate to a range of 5.25% to 5.50%, the highest rate in 23 years and putting upward pressure on interest rates across the economy.
Many economists say higher government spending under the Biden administration is at least partially responsible for the spike in inflation. The president signed the American Rescue Plan in March 2021, authorizing $1.9 trillion in new spending, and the Suppressing Inflation Act, authorizing an additional $750 billion.
Federal debt continues to soar under the Biden administration, totaling $34.44 trillion as of Wednesday, up from $34 trillion at the beginning of 2024. according to to the Ministry of Finance. Federal debt increased by more than $800 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 alone.
“Similar to ‘shrinkflation,’ President Biden is focusing on ‘junk fees’ to distract from the historic inflation caused by his own bad policies,” says Job Creators Network CEO CEO Alfredo Ortiz told DCNF. “In many cases, so-called junk fees are nothing more than an opportunity for consumers to choose the features they want to pay for. By calling for a ban on junk fees, businesses will have no choice but to incorporate these costs into the base price offered to all consumers, and many who are looking to save money and save money in today's inflationary environment. It increases costs for people. Biden's focus on junk fees is nothing but junk economics.”
Biden administration Define Junk fees are those that are “required but not transparently disclosed to consumers,” and optional fees for additional services do not fall under this label, it said.
You earn much more today than you did in January 2021, both in terms of hourly and weekly wages, but you can buy much less because inflation has taken away so much of your purchasing power. Masu. pic.twitter.com/D9dtxRtt7N
— Dr. EJ Antoni (@RealEJAntoni) March 8, 2024
Despite the cap on late fees for credit cards, the cap will remain unchanged and will not be added to other ways businesses make money. That means financial institutions simply have to raise fees, prices, and interest rates to recoup lost revenue. according to To USA Today.
biden announced On Thursday, a special committee aimed at lowering prices claimed that companies were ripping off consumers using junk fees and price gouging. The White House claims his plan would save Americans more than $20 billion in junk fees by cracking down on things like bank overdraft fees and airline fees.
“When that approach predictably led to inflation, we received a series of excuses from President Biden, including 'Putin's price increases' (except that inflation started almost a year before Putin's invasion); It was a supply chain problem (once it was resolved, prices would have returned to normal), so it's no longer used,” Faulkender said. told DCNF. “The blame now lies with ‘greedflation’ and ‘junk fees.’ The American people see through this pathetic scapegoat and know that inflation is a direct result of Bidennomics.”
The Biden administration has a number of talking points to blame for the economic downturn, most recently blaming corporate greed for inflation through “shrinkflation,” where companies reduce the size of their products instead of raising prices. ing. When costs rise rapidly, businesses often resort to reducing product size because consumers are less likely to notice a reduction in product size as opposed to an increase in price.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment from DCNF.
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news distribution service, is available free of charge to legitimate news publishers with large audiences. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and DCNF affiliation. If you have any questions about our guidelines or our partnership, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
