Inflation Crushing Americans: ALEC Offers Solutions on NewsTalk STL Radio

Thomas Savidge, ALEC’s Center for State Fiscal Reform Research Director, spoke with  Tim Jones and Chris Arps on NewsTalk STL radio about the country’s crushing inflation and why it is happening. 

Interview begins at 2:40.

Host: So, Thomas, you have been watching these metrics, and you could probably tell us how bad they are, but it seems that this is not getting the proper play it deserves. Because these are some metrics, I don’t know if you have seen them in your lifetime. Most Americans have not experienced the pain of this. This is severe economic stress, isn’t it?

Thomas: Absolutely. With the latest round of data from the Consumer Price Index, all items across the board have increased in price by 8.2% since last year. Food prices alone have gone up 11%, and energy prices alone have gone up nearly 20% since last year. But Americans don’t need a government report to tell them this. They see it at the grocery store, they see it at the gas pump, and they see how little their paycheck can buy compared to just a few years ago. So, of course, the problem is government, and the solution is getting the government out of the way.

Host: Thomas, what can the average American and local and state governments do to help Americans deal with this 40-year high inflation rate we’re experiencing right now?

Thomas: If you’re not already in a flat tax state, I would say especially for state leaders. This one is for state leaders. I would say that state leaders look to changing the tax system to a flat tax because then, under inflation, people may, if they are fortunate, they may get, they may get raises to adjust their salary for inflation. However, they’ll still get thrown into a higher tax bracket and lose all that money to taxes. And at the same time, their paycheck is buying less and less.

So first and foremost, you want families to be able to keep as much harder money as possible to make ends meet, and I’d say that is one of the most important things right there. And many states we have nine states right now that have a flat tax system going into 2022. There were nine states. In addition, we’ve added Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, and Mississippi to those states that changed from progressive tax to that flat tax. And that’s helping millions of Americans right there.