There are concerns about inflation. | File Photo
There are concerns about inflation. | File Photo
An Arkansas congressional representative is raising concerns about spending by a Democratic-led administration and is linking it to the increasing inflation.
Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) wrote an opinion piece in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette calling on lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to reign in their "spending spree." Westerman ascribed the large number of appropriations coming from Congress to the shocking increase in inflation.
As inflation has risen, reports suggest that the increase is eating away at people's real wages.
Fox Business reported that the spike in prices due to inflation might wipe out any extra earning that workers make. "Real wages," which measures income after factoring in inflation, decreased 2% in June year-over-year. Consumer prices also had the largest increase in 13 years, according to the Department of Labor.
“Most of the run-up in inflation that we are seeing is due to some temporary supply shortages and bottlenecks in the supply process because one or two key parts are missing, such as semiconductor chips" Mark Vitner, a senior economist for Well’s Fargo’s Corporate and Investment Bank, said, according to The Business Journal. “All throughout small business, we are seeing a drop in small business optimism in the last few months. Their costs are rising faster than their ability to pass them on to their end consumers.”
Fox Business reported that wages are rising remarkably fast across the county, up 4% year-over-year and up 0.4% from last month. This may be a response to the widespread difficulty in hiring new workers that many businesses have been experiencing.
“Right now, we are seeing a rebound that is producing [an] unexpected increase in prices, but it isn’t sustainable,” Antonio Avalos, an economics professor and chair of the department of economics at Fresno State, told The Business Journal. “As soon as suppliers are able to get their acts together and rebuild supply channels, the pressure on the supply side will diminish, and the cash that we have accumulated will run out, so I do expect some stability in the near future.”
To some degree, that is being reflected in Arkansas. The unemployment rate slightly improved to 4.3% in July after holding steady at 4.4% for the previous three months. This is more than a whole point lower than the national average, amidst concerns about inflation.
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