Twitter users across the political spectrum excoriated Bloomberg News for an opinion column suggesting low income Americans find ways to lower their costs to deal with skyrocketing inflation.
The column, titled “Inflation Stings Most If You Earn Less Than $300K. Here’s How to Deal,” was written by Teresa Ghilarducci, a professor of economics at the New School for Social Research, a private university in New York.
In it, she explains that inflation, especially soaring gas prices, will do much less harm to Americans who earn more than $289,000 per year. For those near the median income of around $50,000, or less, decisions will be much harder, Ghilarducci wrote.
“If your income is more than $289,000 a year, the run-up in gas prices may be alarming — but it’s unlikely to hammer your overall finances,” Ghilarducci wrote. “For those earning much less, it’s a different story.”
“I expect those most affected will adjust to inflation in the classic way by shifting away from relatively expensive items toward close substitutes,” she continued. “Here are some ideas on how to reconfigure consumption and lessen the blow. But again, adjustment is hard for people without savings or choices.”
Ghilarducci’s suggestions included:
taking public transportation instead of driving;
buying and eating meat subsitutes like lentils and vegetables;
avoiding buying items in bulk;
avoiding unnecessary charges; and
avoiding medical expenses for pets
Bloomberg tweeted a link to the article Saturday. “Inflation stings most if you earn less than $300K,” the tweet read. “Here’s how to deal:
Take the bus
Don’t buy in bulk
Try lentils instead of meat
Nobody said this would be fun
Twitter users from both Left and Right reacted swiftly and scathingly to the out-of-touch headline, clobbering the outlet for its condescending tone, particularly the line, “nobody said this would be fun.”
“So for basically everyone lol,” CBS News White House Reporter Kathryn Watson tweeted in reply.
“The median annual salary in the US is $35K!” Economics professor and Brookings Institution Nonresident Senior Fellow Shamika Ravi tweeted, citing statistics from the Federal Reserve Economic Data. “Inflation is record high (40 year high of 7.5%),” she added. “Coping suggestions will get more and more ludicrous…”
“Inflation stings most if you’re in the bottom 99% of earners,” University of Denver political scientist Seth Masket noted.
“The Liberal Establishment Guide To Handling Inflation: ‘Eat lentils, poors!’” wrote Michael Knowles, host of “The Michael Knowles Show” at The Daily Wire.
“Crazy that one of the suggestions isn’t to stop paying subscriptions to out of touch, dusty media outlets,” tweeted “American Dad” screenwriter Soren Bowie.
“Good news. According to Bloomberg, you can avoid all the disastrous policies of the Biden White House for just a mere $300k a year!” said Texas Republican Congressional Candidate Wesley Hunt. “Can you say, tone deaf?”
“Tips to cope with inflation if you’re poor: – suck it up, buttercup,” replied left-wing activist Emily Gorcenski.
This is an excerpt from The Daily Wire.
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