Ramesh Ponnuru, Columnist

Biden’s Inflation Pitch Doesn’t Pass the Laugh Test

The president claims that the huge Democratic spending plan would curb price increases. That’s political spin. It won’t, and was never intended to.

“Whip inflation now!”

Photographer: Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
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President Joe Biden has taken to saying that the Democrats’ “Build Back Better” legislation will reduce inflation. This spin isn’t just unconvincing. It underscores the absurdity of the Democrats’ political project.

The first weakness of Biden’s argument is that the timing is all wrong. On Nov. 10, the White House issued a prepared statement from Biden claiming that “17 Nobel Prize winners in economics have said that my plan will ‘ease inflationary pressures.’ ”