With high rates seen not since the early 1980s, Americans are feeling the squeeze of inflation in 2022. U.S. Representative for Iowa’s Second District Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) joined KCII News recently to talk about what she sees as the cause of the historic numbers and what can be done for short and long-term relief. “The first thing is for the government to stop spending trillions of dollars in less than a year. Certainly inflation is tied to the level of government spending. Economically, that is well known. We were first told inflation was because of the pandemic, then we were told it was transitory, we’ve been given every reason why there is inflation but we know it’s related to government spending and too much money chasing too few goods. We need to get people back to work. Give people the information that they need to feel safe for the pandemic and continue to grow our economy and recover.”

The Consumer Price Index logged a 7.5% increase in consumer prices in the month of January, the single largest rise since 1982. Some oil prices dropped Wednesday following the highest seen since 2008. WTI Crude dropped by around 12% or around $15 to about $108, and Brent Crude Oil saw a similar drop after hitting its highest price since 2008 Monday. Gas in Iowa is averaging $3.89 per gallon according to the AAA, approximately 60 cents up from a month ago and over a dollar higher than time last year.