Make Inflation a Key Campaign Issue
- by: Care2
- recipient: Senators John McCain and Barack Obama
The traditional rate of inflation in the U.S. has been about 3 percent - but recently it's nearly doubled to 5.6 percent. That means the cost of your basic living necessities like food and transportation are rising, while your hourly wage stays the same.
The Fed assumes that as the country sinks into recession, there will be fewer people spending money and thus inflation will decline. Assumptions like this can lead to disaster. Zimbabwe, for example, is in extreme economic hardship but still has a staggering inflation rate.
As sitting senators, both John McCain and Barack Obama's congressional salaries are adjusted to inflation - so as prices rise, so does their income. But that's not the case for millions of Americans who are feeling the pain of rising inflation. While Senator Obama advocates raising the minimum wage to be in line with inflation, the better long-term solution is to stop the rising rate of inflation.
Send your letter to Senators McCain and Obama today, asking them how they will stop the rising rate of inflation before it spirals out of control.
Dear Senators McCain and Obama,
On August 14, the Consumer Price Index for July indicated that the cost of basic household necessities has risen 5.6 percent over the past year. This inflation rate is unacceptable, especially when wages of American workers are not keeping up.
President Bush and his economic advisors seem to be adopting the wait-and-see approach, hoping that the path to recession will magically lead to a lower rates of inflation. Economists and history have indicated that this policy is unsustainable. If elected, you would have to deal with the spiraling inflation rate and the growing recession.
As the cost of living increases for consumers across America, it's time for you to take a stand on how you will lower the rate of inflation. It's not enough to simply raise wages; we must attack at the heart of the problem and lower inflation itself. What is your long-term solution for decreasing consumer prices?
[Your comment here]
Thank you for your attention to the growing inflation rate.
