Prices are rising, and the Biden Administration is blaming gas station owners, energy executives, “profiteers” and others. This episode of What’s Ahead examines the ugly phenomenon of governments looking for scapegoats for inflation when their own policies are largely responsible.
Scapegoats have been blamed throughout history for a society’s economic woes: Christians in Ancient Rome; witches in medieval Europe; and, more recently, Jewish merchants in Germany for the hyperinflation of the early 1920s. President Nixon blamed greedy Arabs, among others, for rising prices in the 1970s.
There are sensible actions the White House could take to alleviate the current crisis—but won’t.
Instead, Biden’s cynical finger-pointing will further poison our already troubled politics.
