Conservative Group Offers GOP Playbook on Inflation Ahead of Midterms

A conservative advocacy group is providing Republican lawmakers with a strategy for the upcoming midterm elections, focusing on blaming government expansion for the nation's high cost of living. The group, Club for Growth, is distributing memos arguing that federal deficit spending, subsidies, mandates, and supply restrictions have increased core costs for Americans.

The playbook aims to equip the GOP with a response to Democratic attacks on inflation, encouraging them to point to the rapid federal expansion that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic under the Biden administration. The materials, including a two-page memo and a more detailed policy packet, also suggest policies intended to lower costs.

"The free-market answer is structural cost relief: spend less, build more, produce more energy, make healthcare compete, let workers earn, and let families choose," the memo states. Club for Growth advises against increasing subsidies, citing the example of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which the group contends have exacerbated healthcare costs. "Subsidies and regulation function as a back door for government control and involvement in private industry," the memo argues. "The only way to address the affordability crisis properly is to undo misguided government intervention and stop pretending more of the same will suddenly work."

The strategy could be a significant focus for Republicans as they seek to maintain control of the House and Senate. While the midterms are often seen as a referendum on the party in power, this approach offers a potential economic platform for the GOP.

Specific policy recommendations include reforming Social Security to address concerns about its long-term solvency. Regarding housing costs, the memo suggests increasing supply by easing land use and building regulations, rather than offering subsidies for affordability. For energy costs, it advocates for expanding U.S. energy sources, echoing goals from the Trump administration, and exploring nuclear energy as a means to drive down prices.

Club for Growth also advises against policies like free early childcare, proposing instead reforms to regulations within the industry that they argue inflate operating costs without demonstrable benefits to child well-being. Such reforms could include streamlining health and safety training requirements and revising work-child ratios and staffing mandates.

This approach may present a divergence from proposals like the $5,000 checks to adults promised by former President Donald Trump if Republicans win the midterms. Some Republican lawmakers have expressed hesitancy about fully embracing this playbook.

The election is approaching, with both parties intensifying efforts to present solutions for rising costs.