How do midterm candidates plan to fight inflation?
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candidates → plan → inflation
Economists evaluate their proposals
Proposals include tax cuts and an end to the Iran war.
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Proposals → evaluate → war
The final sprint to Tuesday's midterm elections has kicked up a flurry of headlines about attack ads slung by candidates and verbal jabs thrown by current and former occupants of the White House.
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sprint → kick → House
An issue crucial to households' bank account balances, however, has preoccupied voters for the duration of campaign season: Affordability.
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issue → preoccupy → season
The Iran war set off a monthslong surge of inflation as fuel prices climbed in response to unrest in the Middle East, U.S. government data shows.
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data → set → East
In response to rising prices, a jump in bond yields has pushed up rates for loans like credit cards and mortgages, threatening to worsen the financial crunch.
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jump → rise → crunch
Candidates for Congress have voiced a range of proposals meant to address the price woes, including tax cuts, an easing of regulations, a removal of tariffs and an end to the Iran war.
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Candidates → voice → war
Some economists spoke to ABC News about whether the proposals could cool off inflation.
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proposals → speak → inflation
Analysts praised some policies and criticized others, but they all acknowledged that no single measure could dramatically shift the price picture, at least anytime soon.
uncertain
measure → praise → picture
Here's what to know about some affordability proposals made on the campaign trail, according to experts:
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Here → know → experts
End the war in Iran
The Iran war triggered a rise of inflation earlier this year as a historic oil supply shortage pushed up prices for gasoline, groceries and other essentials.
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shortage → end → gasoline
Some candidates, mostly Democrats, have proposed an end to the Iran war as a means of dialing back price hikes.
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candidates → propose → hikes
"We were promised no new foreign wars, but here we are, 185 days into a new foreign war and Nebraskans are paying the price," Dan Osborn, an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in Nebraska, said at a debate in September.
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Osborn → promise → September
On his campaign website, Osborn calls for "ending the wars that drive up prices and costs the lives of American servicemen and women," pointing specifically to the Iran war.
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that → call → war
When asked last month how he would bring down prices, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who is up for re-election, vowed to "end this disastrous war in Iran."
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who → ask → Iran
Analysts who spoke to ABC News attributed elevated prices for gasoline and some other goods to ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has damaged oil infrastructure and forced firms to take up costly means of transporting crude.
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which → speak → crude
The national average price of a gallon of gas stands at $4.16 a gallon, which marks an increase of $1.18 since the outset of the Iran war in February, according to AAA data.
uncertain
which → stand → data
Gas prices jumped more than 9% in September from August, accounting for more than half of the overall price increase that month, the most recent month on record, U.S. government data showed.
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data → jump → record
"The war has a lot to do with what has happened to oil prices and of course to the refined product prices," Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institute's Hutchins Center for Fiscal and Monetary Policy, told ABC News.
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Ferretti → have → News
"Ending the war would be salient."
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Ending → end → war
President Donald Trump has acknowledged the rise in oil prices while maintaining that the war has been worth it to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
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war → acknowledge → weapon
He has also predicted that fuel prices will fall quickly when the conflict ends.
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conflict → predict → ?
After the war, "oil prices will come plummeting down even lower than they were at the start of the conflict," Trump said in September at the United Nations General Assembly.
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Trump → plummet → Assembly
In the event of a peace deal in the Middle East, assuming it brought all fighting to a halt, oil prices would likely fall as supply challenges eased, but the reduction in price could take time as producers repair oil infrastructure in the region, some analysts said.
uncertain
analysts → assume → region
Gas prices, meanwhile, would likely fall at a delayed pace as retailers sell through refined product purchased while oil prices were at higher levels, they added.
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they → fall → levels
"Even if we ended the Iran war today, I think it's going to take a while for those energy prices to come down," Kara Reynolds, an economist at American University, told ABC News.
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Reynolds → end → News
"We're underestimating how much of the capacity of production has been destroyed in that area."
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much → underestimate → area
Tax cuts
President Trump's signature One Big Beautiful Bill, which included a range of tax reductions for both individuals and businesses, has drawn praise from Republican candidates on the trail.
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which → include → trail
Many of them have touted tax cuts as a means of keeping money in people's pockets and relieving affordability woes.
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Many → tout → woes
Ashley Hinson, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Iowa, has called for such tax relief.
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Hinson → call → relief
Hinson's campaign website says: "Ashley has always believed it is YOUR money, not the government's money.
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it → say → ?
She has been laser focused on lowering taxes for working families and empowering all Iowans with opportunities.
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She → focus → opportunities
Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., who is running for re-election, also mentions this approach on his campaign website.
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who → run → website
"Pete Ricketts is helping Nebraska families, workers, seniors, and small business owners keep more of their hard-earned income," the website says.
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website → help → income
Economists who spoke to ABC News described tax cuts as a potential way to ease affordability woes by sheltering some of an individual's income from taxes.
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who → speak → taxes
At the same time, they said, a resulting uptick in consumer spending would risk heightened inflation in the event the increase in demand were to outpace the supply of goods.
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increase → say → goods
If a larger amount of money were to chase after a similar amount of goods, they said, prices may rise.
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prices → chase → goods
"In general, tax relief can give you income you can use to compensate for higher prices," Reynolds said.
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Reynolds → give → prices
"The problem is when you lower taxes that can be seen as a fiscal stimulus.
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that → lower → stimulus
To the extent that's fueling more consumer spending it exacerbates inflation.
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it → fuel → inflation
…and 34 more, not listed.
The Aporia
