DORAL, Fla. – After meeting privately with business owners on Friday afternoon in Miami-Dade County’s city of Doral, Sen. Rick Scott talked about the federal government’s spending.
Scott blamed President Joe Biden’s administration for the recent inflation spike, which Federal Reserve officials say is temporary.
Scott said the “excess” government spending is having repercussions on the economy. He said unemployment assistance is causing a labor shortage that is hurting restauranteurs.
“They can’t find workers because we are paying people more money not to work than to work,” Scott said.
Scott also repeated his previous criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for ongoing purchases of U.S. Treasuries to finance U.S. federal deficits.
“Why is the Federal Reserve doing that? No one could ever explain that to me,” said Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is raising funds for 2022 elections.
Scott also repeated some of the statements Rep. Jim Banks, an influential member of the House Republican caucus, included in his “Tie Biden Agenda to Inflation” memo on May 24.
“Increasing the money supply to fund things like stimulus cash and generous unemployment benefits will always devalue our currency, which means your dollar won’t go as far,” Banks wrote.
Banks issued the memo as Republicans are gearing up for a fight over raising the debt limit. The two-year deal on the debt limit is set to expire on Aug. 1.
Economic data: The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach rose 1.6% from February to April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
This Week In South Florida: May 16
Torres contributed to this report from Miami.