I know it’s only October, but the holiday season will be here before we know it. Unfortunately, the way things are trending show this holiday season will be another expensive one. This week, Bloomberg Economics model projection found that there is a 100% chance of a recession in the next year. While this isn’t shocking news to anyone whose been watching the economy – which in these trying economic times is almost every American – it’s more concrete evidence that our current economic policies aren’t working.

Despite President Biden’s statement a few days ago that the American economy is “strong” and repeated claims that this historic inflation is improving, the numbers clearly indicate otherwise. I’m not sure where the President is getting his information, but American families know you’d be hard pressed to find an item or service in our country that hasn’t increased in price over the last two years. And with the price of energy remaining so high as we head into winter, it is going to cost American families an estimated 28% more to heat their homes. We see the price of everyday goods go up all around us, but there is another less talked about area that’s being heavily affected by our weakened economy: your retirement savings.

By now, the sad truth that inflation is costing an average of $5,000 a person is no longer news. But these problems are seeping into every area of our economy possible, including long-term planning and retirement. On average, Americans’ 401(k)s are down 25% which comes out to an alarming $34,000 a year. This shrinking economy has stolen $2.1 trillion in our nation’s retirement savings. In the last two years, monthly savings have declined 83% nationally. As a result, many Americans are planning to delay their retirement because they simply cannot afford to stop working in this economy. Retirement no longer being feasible because our government prioritized over-spending to fund Green New Deal policies and an IRS army sounds ridiculous, but unfortunately it is reality. Americans spend the majority of their lives working hard so they can retire at a certain age to enjoy more time with their families and live off the savings they have rightfully earned. Two years of irresponsible economic policies shouldn’t erase that.

The good news is there’s a very clear solution to these problems that are hitting Americans hard: bring down inflation by reigning in government and produce more things in America, most notably energy. One of the pillars of House Republicans’ Commitment to America that I was most involved in creating was the initiative is to reestablish “an economy that is strong.” Since February 2021, government spending has increased by over $9 trillion. At the same time, permits for oil and gas have been shut down and the cost of government regulations has skyrocketed. The result has been too much money chasing too few goods: inflation.

We need the government to stop flooding the system with taxpayer money and start letting American businesses thrive again. With more domestic energy production our gas prices will go down and we will no longer have to watch the American President beg Saudi Arabia for oil. Eliminating unnecessary government regulations that cost the U.S. economy over $200 billion in 2021 alone will reduce the price of everything we buy. And ending our dependence on China will ensure the communist country can never hold our supply chain hostage again. That is the America we all believe in, and the America future generations deserve.