Peter Schiff: Bidenomics Is a Disaster

Peter Schiff recently appeared on Real America with Dan Ball to talk about Bidenomics and the impact of inflation. Peter said Bidenomics is a disaster and price inflation isn’t beat. In fact, it will continue to increase as long as the government keeps borrowing and spending.

Dan opened the interview pointing out that despite cooling CPI, prices still seem to be rising in the real world. Peter pointed out that CPI was deliberately redesigned in the 1990s to understate price inflation.

I think it’s more accurate to double whatever the official rate is, and that’s probably a close estimate of the actual rate. So, if we’re down to 3.1, that’s probably 6.2.”

Peter went on to explain that the only reason the official CPI fell from just over 9% to 3% was a collapse in the price of oil as President Biden raided the strategic oil reserve. Meanwhile, there was a big rise in the dollar on foreign exchange markets.

Speculators were bidding up the dollar on the Fed rate hikes. Well, the dollar rally is over, and there’s not that much oil left in the reserve anymore. I think that’s why oil prices are up about 30% from the lows a few months ago — up about 15% in the last month. And now you’re going to really start to see those CPI numbers moving back up in the other direction.”

One example of a price that continues to climb rapidly is rent. With mortgages above 7%, a lot of people can’t afford to buy homes. Renting is the only option.

If you can’t afford to buy, you’re stuck renting, and the landlords know this, so they have the ability to raise rents because their tenants don’t have the alternative of a 3.5% mortgage anymore.”

A lot of landlords also have mortgages, many of them with adjustable rates.

A lot of your landlords, they’re seeing big increases in their debt service. They need to raise rents to cover those costs.”

Meanwhile, President Biden and administration spokespeople are touting the success of “Bidenomics.” Peter said he doesn’t even know what Bidenomics is.

What has Biden done other than increase government spending and add extra regulations into the economy? There’s nothing economic about that. It’s just a complete disaster.”

Peter said it’s just going to get worse as time goes by as inflation accelerates and the economy tanks.

Dan brought up a recent tweet Peter posted.

Since #UPS drivers will soon be earning $170k per year, it doesn't make sense for most people to borrow huge amounts of money to spend four years in college, for starting salaries of around $50k, when they can earn over three times as much right out of high school driving trucks.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) August 11, 2023

Peter reiterated that education these days is a racket.

The vast majority would be better off skipping college and just getting a job. And if you want to learn, you’ve got the internet, you’ve got AI. You can teach yourself with the help of all this technology. You don’t need these overpaid teachers’ unions and universities and all the money they’re spending.”

Peter said the reason the educational system got so bloated was government involvement.

Dan said he believes the only way out of the economic mess is to cut government spending and unleash capitalism. Peter agreed.

Remember, whenever you hear Biden talk about reduced inflation, you have to remember that basically, inflation represents the difference between what the government collects in taxes and what they spend. Because we don’t get all that government for nothing. When Joe Biden says we’re going to have all these new government programs but nobody who makes over $400,000 per year is going to pay for it — he’s lying. Everybody who makes under $400,000 per year, $100,000 a year, is paying the inflation tax. When the government spends money it doesn’t have, the Fed prints it. And when that money gets printed, everybody’s money is worth less — everybody’s savings, everybody’s paycheck. Prices going up simply represents the value of your money going down. And that increase is a tax. It is the inflation tax. And as long as government spending is not being cut, the inflation tax is going to keep going up.”