Wednesday’s news that inflation has hit an all-time high at 9.1 percent is no surprise to Georgians, especially Republican Party leaders and GOP candidates seeking state office in the November General Election. They have been following the numbers for months, as well as the reports that show Georgia is among the top 10 states that are most impacted by record-high inflation rates.
The Georgia Republican Party sent out an email Wednesday that pointed to an analysis by Merchant Maverick that ranked Georgia the fourth-highest state in impact from inflation, trailing only Louisiana, Florida and Tennessee. The site added that Atlanta will see “exceptionally high” inflation, and found that the 10 states most impacted by inflation were all in the Southeast.
According to news reports, analyst Chris Motola said, “The Peach State is suffering from inflation, as rising prices, low incomes, and high taxes leave precious little wiggle room in household budgets.”
Georgia’s median household income is just $56,628 (42nd highest in the country) and sales taxes add another 7.35 percent to every purchase,” Motola wrote in his analysis. “Meanwhile, the cost of expenses like housing, medical care, and apparel have all risen precipitously across the U.S. south.”
The Georgia GOP responded with this comment from the party Press Secretary Danielle Repass: “Joe Biden’s excessive spending, enabled by (Senator) Raphael Warnock, caused a 40-year high inflation rate and has made life much harder for Georgians. Raphael Warnock and Stacey Abrams will fail in November because Democrat policies simply do not work.”
The statement from the state GOP went on to say that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has kept costs from getting worse by cutting the state’s fuel tax until August 13.
Kemp suspended the state’s fuel tax, 29.1 cents per gallon for gasoline and 32.6 cents for diesel, in March as prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He has twice extended the order.
When announcing the order, Kemp was quoted as saying, “Politicians in Washington, D.C. who ran on promises to unite the nation are failing us, and I will not tolerate this on behalf of Georgians who have entrusted me to fight for them. While we continue to do what we can on the state level to ease the burden at the gas pump, in the grocery store, and elsewhere, I will also continue to urge those on the federal level to change these failing policies, work toward greater energy independence for the country, and get our economy back to full operation.”
In his analysis, Motola noted that metro areas, such as Atlanta, see exceptionally high inflation “as population increases in recent years have led to high demand for supplies like gas and food, while supply chain woes have rendered these necessities scarcer than usual.”
Republican candidates took to Social Media Wednesday to talk about the inflation rate.
Burt Jones, Republican nominee for lt. governor, posted “Disastrous Democrat policies have caused inflation to skyrocket — hurting every Georgia family. In the State Senate, we suspended the gas tax and passed the largest tax cut in state history.”
In his post, Jones pointed out that transportation costs have increased 19.4 percent in the last 12 months, and energy has risen 16.2 percent in the same time. Food has seen a 9.7 percent increase in 12 months and housing a 6.9 percent increase.
Tyler Harper, Republican nominee for Georgia’s Agriculture Commissioner, states that “inflation is crushing families and farmers across Georgia.”
Democrats have made few statements about the inflation rate but seem to be trying to distance themselves from President Joe Biden who has a dismal disapproval rating of 56.3 percent – worse than any other modern president, according to data from FiveThirtyEight. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams did call for the gas tax to be suspended through the end of the year, after Kemp’s last extension. She also called for another round of payments for some Georgia residents, using federal COVID-19 relief money.
