On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) stated that the only reason gas prices have fallen is because people are cutting back on how much they drive “because we’re spending so much on the real necessities of food and shelter and a lot of other stuff.” And predicted that “It took five years for Paul Volcker to tamp down inflation to 2% from back in 1981 to 1986. We’re going to go through some version of that.”
Braun stated, “I’d say fire and rain is about ready to descend upon the economy. Back six months ago, Martha, I noticed that revenues were starting to flatten for certain companies. I still stay as closely in touch as any senator with the business I ran for 37 years. Anything that’s discretionary, they were starting to hurt five, six months ago because necessities, food, fuel, shelter, look what they have done. And the biggest indication of where people are cutting back on one of the three would be the one that is of the least necessity, that’d be gasoline for any type of trips or pleasure driving. The price has been coming down on that because we’re using less of it because we’re spending so much on the real necessities of food and shelter and a lot of other stuff. This was unleash[ed] back when you shut the government — or shut the economy down through government, and then incentivized people to stay home and watch Netflix. [The] worst possible combinations, we’re paying the price for it. It took five years for Paul Volcker to tamp down inflation to 2% from back in 1981 to 1986. We’re going to go through some version of that.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett