On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN International’s “Amanpour,” Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) stated that while inflation is a “serious” issue, he wants “to keep people’s eye on the prize” that the Inflation Reduction Act “is a way to address climate change that we’ve never even come close to before.”
Host Bianna Golodryga asked, “Branding is an important part in all of this. I know you would agree to that. It’s no longer Build Back Better, it is the Inflation Reduction Act. And most economists would agree that it does reduce inflation over time. Are you worried, at all, however, that this is being oversold to the public, who may be hoping for an instant fix in terms of inflation and how it’s impacting their bottom lines?”
Hickenlooper responded, “Well, inflation, I mean, every time I go anywhere in Colorado, anywhere in the United States, people are talking about inflation. And it’s been a real difficult obstacle for people just to balance their monthly budgets and their household budgets. But you have to recognize, look at all of the different countries. Some of them didn’t do any federal spending to address the ravages of the pandemic. And yet, they have the same, and sometimes more inflation than the United States does. So, what — the inflation is really, I think, largely the cost of — the result of the breakage and the disruptions of the supply chains, things like crude oil. … So, this is — you’re right, it is a problem with people all around this country and the world that inflation’s a serious problem. But I want to keep people’s eye on the prize that this is a way to address climate change that we’ve never even come close to before.”
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