Sheldon Whitehouse Claims Fossil Fuels Drive Inflation, Gets Destroyed in Replies

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who carries one of the most ironic surnames in recent political history given his tastes in exclusive beach clubs, apparently is also an economic illiterate. Granted, in today's Democratic Party he has a lot of company, but somehow Sen. Whitehouse (I can't read that last name without a chuckle) has taken economic illiteracy to the next level. His latest misadventure? He's claiming that fossil fuel emissions are driving up costs - in effect, causing inflation - and he cites a New York Times article.

More “climate-flation,” with costs skyrocketing for families because of fossil fuel emissions — insurance bills, in grocery aisles, and of course gouging at the pump.https://t.co/ihcDsJSuHW
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) August 27, 2024

There's just one problem. The article he cites does not mention fossil fuels. It mentions only that severe weather in some locales is driving up the cost of insurance in those areas. This is not inflation; this is the increase in insurance rates due to the risk of insuring these properties. The weather events are not blamed on "climate change;" the article merely states that they happened. Also, it's difficult to see how an increase in homeowner's insurance rates is driving up the cost of, for instance, gasoline and diesel fuel, which are major drivers of cost increases.

Insurers say the growing frequency and severity of hurricanes, wildfires, floods and big windstorms have made it impossible for them not to raise premiums. In recent years, their property insurance businesses have booked losses instead of profits.
“It’s frustrating, but it’s what our economic conditions are right now,” said Sean Kevelighan, chief executive of the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group. “The private insurance industry is just trying to make sure that it’s getting the right capital on hand so that it can pay the claims and keep the promises.”

What Senator Whitehouse is doing here is a standard tactic on the left; pick an isolated story, cite it, then do a lateral arabesque to your topic du jour to try to make an argument that anyone with enough brains to pour urine out of a boot can see won't work.

WATCH: JD Vance Wrecks NBC Simp Who Was Silly Enough to Challenge Him on Trump's Economic Record

Here's the problem economic illiterates like Senator Whitehouse face: They are wrong with virtually every utterance. Fossil fuels, Mr. Senator, are not dumping trillions of fiat dollars into the economy every year. That, Senator, is what is causing the inflationary cycle. This is Supply and Demand 101: The federal apparatus has hit the TURBO button on the money printers, and as the money supply increases, the value of that money decreases. It's a devaluation of the currency, and it's inflationary; this is something we can see throughout history, back (at least) to the devaluing of the denarius in the last decades of the Roman Empire.

But never let it be said that Sheldon Whitehouse will let the facts get in the way of a good rant.

Add this to the list of things that would be great but will never happen, but I'd love to see some requirement that every member of Congress be required to read Thomas Sowell's "Basic Economics" and pass an exam on that work before voting on any economic issues. I'd settle for Adam Smith's "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations." Sadly, we'd probably need a constitutional amendment for that (an IQ test wouldn't be a bad idea, either), but we're unlikely to see that happen.

Here's what's encouraging about this mess: Senator Whitehouse is getting destroyed in the responses.

Can someone tell the fossil fuels to stop printing money? It's ruining my insurance rates!
— Josh (@J_O_S_H_S_) August 27, 2024

Are you special needs ?
— WorldGoneMad (@qu3stionevrthg) August 27, 2024

YOU are doing all of that, every drop of it, by policy you wilfully voted for. Driving up prices to force pain at the pump and the cash register is a feature of your party's policies.
— Spooky Joe (@jmotivator) August 27, 2024

Probably top 5 stupidest people in the Senate
🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
— George Peterson (@MikeyNYI) August 27, 2024

Here's my personal favorite:

That's why white-only clubs are so expensive?
— Suresh Karanam (@sureshkaranam_k) August 27, 2024

Once again I'm belaboring the obvious by pointing out that Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a poster child for term limits, doesn't know what he's talking about. But then, among Congressional Democrats, he's got lots of company. It's nice to see that some among us know the real deal - and can see through Whitehouse's horse squeeze.

Now, if only we could get more Rhode Island voters to see through the BS, then we'd be in business.