This summer, the annual inflation in america hit 9.1 percent, a 40-year high. It is not any wonder that voters are rating inflation and the state of the economy as an important issues going into the 2022 midterm elections, with 82 percent in a September poll from Monmouth University saying that the rising cost of living is an especially or very essential issue. One in all three all-new episodes of our podcast Voting Catholiclooks at inflation and its impact within the 2022 midterm election.
Catherine Orr, the pastoral associate of Lumen Christi parish within the small town of Mequon, Wis., spoke with Sebastian Gomes, an executive editor at America and host of Voting Catholic. Ms. Orr and her husband, Matt, the superintendent for a construction company, have three children starting from nine months old to 7 years old.
“I notice inflation essentially the most with regard to gas prices,” said Ms. Orr, who explains that they need to keep up two cars within the household because Matt travels a lot for work. “I easily refill my gas tank twice per week and once you’re gas prices near $4 a gallon, that’s almost a thousand dollars a month.” But she has also noticed rising food prices.
“I easily refill my gas tank twice per week and once you’re gas prices near $4 a gallon, that’s almost a thousand dollars a month.”
“You don’t must have a variety of things or spend a variety of money to have a fruitful and full life,” she said, “but there are occasions when you desire to find a way to simply have a bit of treat. How do you propose for that and budget for that in a way that isn’t going to jeopardize things that we prioritize financially, like sending the children to Catholic school or living in a house that’s secure and stable in an area that’s protected?”
Asked whether the associated fee of living is a significant topic of conversation at her parish, Ms. Orr said,
“We’re very fortunate that we live in an upper-middle-class area … [but] the parish could be very near town of Milwaukee and other parishes that don’t have the identical level of resources. … So we’ve these conversations usually with our volunteer ministries: How is the community being impacted by this? Is there something that we will and needs to be doing to assist alleviate others who’re in a tougher financial position?”
But first we’d ask: How did inflation get so bad?
“At a quite simple level, economists often say inflation is simply too much money chasing too few goods,” said Tony Annett, an economist at Fordham University, and the writer of Cathonomics: How Catholic Tradition Can Create a More Just Economy. “So let’s take a look at either side of that.”
How did inflation get so bad? “At a quite simple level, economists often say inflation is simply too much money chasing too few goods.”
He cited the Biden administration’s stimulus package, partly in response to the Covid epidemic, that was enacted in 2021. “It had some very excellent policies just like the child tax credit. It had $1,400 checks to qualifying households. But some economists argue that there was an excessive amount of stimulus, an excessive amount of money delivered, People had an excessive amount of money, which meant they spent quite a bit, which suggests prices rose.”
“Now, that’s one reason why inflation is high, however it’s actually not the important reason. … It’s [also] attributable to too few goods.” As we got here out of the Covid crisis, Dr. Annett said, people began to buy more goods, and provide chains weren’t in a position to sustain. The war in Ukraine has also contributed to higher food and energy prices.
There are limits to what government leaders can do to bring down inflation, said Dr. Annett. The Federal Reserve can raise rates of interest to bring down demand, but one other major stimulus, including a tax cut, would only “add fuel to the fireplace of inflation.”
“This is definitely what’s happening in Great Britain immediately,” he said. “The brand new government got here in and implemented massive tax cuts, which is absolutely complicating the power of the Bank of England to curb inflation and resulting in financial problems for the British economy.”
the economy through a Catholic lens
So what does Catholic social teaching should say about inflation at this critical moment?
“I feel we’ve to deal with the centrality of the common good over individual self-interest,” said Dr. Annett. “Business also must align its activities with the common good. The Catholic church has been very clear that [business] can’t be nearly maximizing profits, about maximizing your return to your shareholders. You furthermore mght have a responsibility to your staff. You might have a responsibility to guard the environment. You might have a responsibility to broader society. Given all these problems we face today in our economy, we want all hands on deck. We’d like the federal government to play a job, but we also need business to play a job and support the common good.
“And that’s heavily related to a second principle, which is the preferential option for the poor, which from a policy perspective says we want to evaluate all policies at the beginning for the way they affect the least amongst us. With inflation, that’s especially essential because when inflation is being driven by high food and high energy costs, that [affects] a big share of the budgets of the poorest people within the country.”
“We’d like the federal government to play a job, but we also need business to play a job and support the common good.”
Given these guidelines, what should Catholics be on the lookout for in political candidates this 12 months? “I feel they needs to be on the lookout for politicians who’ve an encompassing view of the common good, who are usually not wedded to the free market,” said Dr. Annett. “Because Catholic social teaching argues that you will have twin rocks” to steer between with a view to avoid a shipwreck. “Just as collectivism and communism [are] unsuitable, so libertarianism and free-market ideology result in bad outcomes.”
He said he would ask candidates how they might use the ability of the federal government to cushion people from bad economic effects. So for instance, what policies are proposed to shelter the poor from continued high inflation? At the identical time, what policies are being proposed to maintain unemployment low?
“Raising rates of interest will choke off aggregate demand and make it harder for firms to expand and hire staff,” Dr. Annett explained. “Some economists have said that getting inflation back right down to 2 percent would result in 1.5 million people losing their jobs, which could be a human tragedy.” That may be a trade-off that Catholics must consider when casting a ballot.
the long game
Back in Wisconsin, Catherine Orr is already wrestling with these issues. “Prior to this 12 months, I don’t think I’d have really considered inflation or the economy overall as one among my top priorities,” she said. “I feel possibly this 12 months specifically, simply because my youngest is nine months old and with three kids [in the family], it definitely has bumped up. I wouldn’t say it’s the highest priority, however it’s definitely up there.”
Asked how she would judge government leaders on the economy, given how long it could actually take economic policies to have a noticeable effect, she responded, “I definitely am not an economist, and that was one among the classes in school that I definitely struggled with. Nevertheless, I do know from that you simply do should play the long game and you will have to have a look at years value of policy. … At the identical time, it’s really essential to have a look at who’s in office, what their voting record has been, since it’s very easy to take heed to soundbites and never get the complete picture of a selected piece of laws.
“When you’re able to have interaction in the method, you’ll start to attach the dots yourself, and also you’ll see that nobody person has that much power.” Congress can pass laws overnight, but “these policies take years to implement, and it takes years to feel the ramifications of them, whether positive or negative. So it will be important to have interaction within the long game of advocacy from a Catholic perspective.”
And what’s the Catholic perspective?
“To vote Catholic means that you simply really do should ground yourself in prayer and your relationship with Christ,” Ms. Orr said. “Because when you possibly can actually embody the 2 great commandments of loving God and loving neighbor, then you definately’ll find a way to consider all of those issues from a very different framework. It’s not ‘Why do I care about X issue?’ It’s ‘Why do I care about my neighbor?’ ‘Why do I care about how these policies impact their lives? And why do I care about how these policies impact my family?’”
For complete coverage of the 2022 midterm elections from America Media, visit AmericaMagazine.org. And please consider supporting the production of Voting Catholic by getting a digital subscription to America.