BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Pennsylvania GOP Senate hopeful Dave McCormick blasted his opponent’s attempt to rebrand the Biden-Harris administration’s inflation “greedflation” and “shrinkflation,” as polls continue to show the race tightening.
“Bob Casey has no sense of how the economy works,” McCormick said at a women’s luncheon Wednesday in Chester County. “He’s never owned a business, he’s never had to hire or [do] payroll.”
“He has no idea, and that’s why he thinks the problem is greedflation, shrinkflation or these other things,” McCormick added, drawing laughter and applause. “Because he has no answers for the problems facing the United States.”
Casey has repeatedly featured “greedflation” and “shrinkflation” — the idea that corporate “price gouging” is most responsible for goods’ rising prices — in his campaign ads. The third-term incumbent has also backed Vice President Kamala Harris’ federal price-control plan to address the issue.
A June study by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco balked at Casey’s reasoning, instead concluding that rising prices were mostly caused by supply chain and labor disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic rather than corporate greed.
Corporate profits were “not particularly pronounced” in the post-COVID era compared to other periods of economic recovery, the study said.
McCormick stayed on the offensive at a Bucks County press conference later that day, where he appeared with the former White House press secretary and current governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The pair painted Casey as an out-of-touch liberal, tying him to Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket.
“They supported policies that have blocked economic mobility, the ability to get ahead,” McCormick said of Harris and Casey. “That is the American dream.”
“We need leadership that’s not afraid to stand up for what’s right. I know Dave, and he is a fighter,” Sanders added, after endorsing McCormick.
Business owners at the presser liked what they heard from the two GOP leaders, as the rising cost of supplies has hindered their livelihoods.
“I still buy things, I have to just to keep the business going,” said Paul Singh, owner of Bensalem Farmers Market and Deli where the event was held. “Am I making a profit? No.”
Singh told The Post he’s particularly concerned about the cost of one item in particular, which will be in high demand in just a few months.
“I just found out Christmas trees — cause we sell Christmas trees here — they went up now from the last two years,” Singh said. “Who’s gonna buy a $40 tree at the minimum height?”
Kim Koustsouradis, owner of Casanova’s Kitchen, said he tries to shop at different distributors to keep operating costs low in this business environment.
“I’ve had one distributor I’ve dealt with now — my father started with them probably 40 years ago,” Koustsouradis told The Post. “But if I don’t keep an eye on their prices, I [have to] go elsewhere.”
