Speaker Kevin McCarthy: The Reality of Back-To-School Under "Bidenomics"

As a result of two years of runaway government spending under Democrats’ one-party rule (or as the President calls it, “Bidenomics”), a Florida mother of three said this on buying back-to-school necessities for her kids: “Before I even went shopping, I will tell you, I had a full-on panic attack and cried. It’s just a headache.”

Her frustration is well-founded. The price of school supplies has risen by nearly 24 percent since President Biden took office. Packing your child’s backpack has never been more expensive.

Pens, markers, and mechanical pencils cost 13 percent more today than in 2019.
Binders and folders cost 48.5% more than they did last year.
Crayons and highlighters are up an average of 18.5% from last year.
Oh, and buying them that new backpack will cost you a lot more too.

Overall, the National Retail Federation estimates that parents will spend an average of $890 per household – over $100 more than in 2020.

Getting to school is more expensive too, with gas prices at an average of $3.85, which is $1.46 higher than President Biden’s first day in office. That’s true for parents in the drop-off line and buses making the morning route.

“It might mean we have to put off a rotation for maybe our floors or maybe wait on carpeting for another year. Or maybe we wait on uniforms. Maybe we have to wait for a larger field trip that maybe we were taking to Chicago but now we go to Milwaukee,” Nichole Schweitzer, District Administrator for the School District of Shiocton, Wisconsin, said about needing to be creative and flexible with their funding to account for rising gas prices.

While President Biden and Democrats try to paint a rosy picture, the facts tell the full story. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, House Republicans have already taken action to lower prices at the pump and stop the out-of-control spending that led to record inflation in the first place. For example, we passed the “Lower Energy Costs Act,” which will increase America’s energy supply, lower costs for consumers, and grow our economy. But as parents, teachers, and schools struggle just to afford the back-to-school basics, it begs the question – Why hasn’t the Senate acted?

While Democrats refuse to address rising costs, Republicans will continue to fight to make education more affordable, attainable, and accessible.

P.S. Yesterday we told you about Americans’ trust in schools plummeting. Stay tuned for the third part in this series where we’ll show you how woke curriculums are failing our students.

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