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Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, as we know, President Biden has been talking the last 30 to 60 days about Bidenomics. I think it would be fair to say that because so many Americans are struggling to support their families, President Biden is struggling to explain what he means by ``Bidenomics.''
I think most fairminded Americans, based on the, what, year and a half and a few months that President Biden has been President, understand what Bidenomics is because they understand, at this juncture, what President Biden believes in, not only what he believes in, what he has done.
Bidenomics, to most fairminded Americans, is bigger government. Bidenomics is higher taxes. Bidenomics is more regulation.
Bidenomics is more spending. Bidenomics is more debt. Bidenomics is also inflation.
Let me say that again. First and foremost, Bidenomics is inflation. President Biden's inflation--history, I believe, will demonstrate this--is a cancer on the American dream. It is a cancer on the American dream.
Since President Biden has been President, electricity is up 24 percent. There is your Bidenomics. Gas, gasoline--I will quote you from Louisiana--is up 65 percent. Eggs are up 39 percent. Potato chips are up 25 percent. Bread is up 26 percent. Coffee costs 30 percent more, thanks to President Biden's inflation and Bidenomics. Rice is up 29 percent. Flour is up 25 percent. Milk is up 18 percent; ice cream, 18 percent; chicken, 23 percent. I could keep going.
Let me give you a few statistics to put those numbers in context. The median household income in my State of Louisiana is $53,571. The median household income of an American family, nationwide, is $70,784. So in Louisiana, the median household income--not individual income, household income--is about $54,000. The median income throughout America is about $71,000.
In my State, Bidenomics and President Biden's inflation is costing my people--the average family in Louisiana--an additional $757 a month-- not a year, a month. That is $9,084 a year.
So imagine, in Louisiana, if you are at the median household income of $54,000 a year--that is you, a spouse, and children--and, all of a sudden, in the past year-and-a-half, under Bidenomics, you have got to come out of pocket an extra $9,000 a year. You are making $54,000 a year to support the family, and now, all of a sudden, you have got to come out--you have to find--an extra $9,000 just to tread water. Where are you going to get that money?
Maybe you saved up a little money from the stimulus checks, but that is probably gone. Maybe you have a savings account that you set aside, but that is probably gone now too. Maybe you have got a couple of credit cards, but you have maxed those out. Maybe you have a dream of sending your children to college and you have a college fund, but you have already had to dip into that. And there is no end in sight.
Now, that is the experience of the people in my State, from Bidenomics, and I think that is the experience across America. That is why I say that inflation--President Biden's inflation--has been a cancer on the American dream. And I can tell you that in Louisiana my people are getting really good at barely getting by, and there is no end in sight.
Now, I am pleased to be able to say that the rate of inflation has been coming down, and I hope it keeps coming down. Our last inflation numbers showed that. You will see them reported in the media. Inflation is now at 3 percent. That is sort of accurate. It is at 3 percent, but the reason it is at 3 percent is primarily because of the fall in the price of gasoline. Gasoline is still high, but the price of oil has come down because our economy and the world economy are so weak. So there is less demand for it.
But more important than overall inflation is what we call core inflation. That is what most economists look at. It would be core inflation because core--C-O-R-E--inflation looks at inflation without looking at energy or food, because energy and food can both be very volatile. Core inflation is at 4.8 percent, and it has been very sticky, still way over the Federal Reserve's targeted 2 percent.
But it has been coming down, and that is good news. But what does that mean? All it means is that the rate of increase in inflation has been slowing.
When you have inflation, let's say at 8 percent, and you get it down to 6 percent, that means that you have reduced the rate of increase of the prices. The economists call that disinflation. That doesn't mean that prices are going down. It just means that prices aren't rising as rapidly.
And if we can get core inflation down to 2 percent, that does not mean these high prices that I just quoted are going to go down. That would be deflation.
I regret to tell you, Mr. President--and I think you know what I am saying is accurate--these high prices are permanent. We are going to be stuck with a 24-percent increase in electricity. Even if we can get inflation down to zero percent, these high prices that have been caused by Bidenomics are permanent.
We are going to be stuck with coffee up 30 percent. I am not going to reread the list. That is why I say that inflation, the major product of Bidenomics, has been a cancer on the American dream.
Now, my people in Louisiana need every dollar they can get right now. The average family making $54,000 a year is now having to find an additional $9,000 a year, and that is not going to change. Their only hope is that it doesn't get worse.
So I want to call the attention of my people to tax refunds. A lot of my people get tax refunds. They get money back. They have money withheld from their paycheck, and, oftentimes, it is too much. And the State of Louisiana and the Federal Government owe them money in the form of a tax refund.
And sometimes my people in Louisiana are busy earning a living. They get up every day. They go to work. They obey the law. They pay their taxes. They try to teach their children morals. They try to do the right thing for their children. They get busy, and, sometimes, people forget to claim their tax refunds.
So I am here today, No. 1, to try to explain Bidenomics and tell the people of Louisiana and the people of America that I am sorry they are having to go through this. But, No. 2, I understand that every dollar counts. And please, please, please, check and see if you are due a tax refund.
For example, now, start with the State. The State of Louisiana is holding almost $12 million--$11,574,249--that is owed in tax refunds to the people of Louisiana. So 15,461 people are owed tax refunds, and they haven't claimed it. The average refund is about $750. You need to claim it, I say to my people. You need to claim it by August 28. If you don't claim it by August 28, you won't lose it. The money will be transferred to the Treasury Department and become part of what is called the Unclaimed Property Program, and then you just have to fill out more paperwork to get your money.
So if you think you have a tax refund due from the State of Louisiana, go get it by August 28. It is worth checking. All you have got to do is go to the department of revenue website: revenue.louisiana.gov--revenue.louisiana.gov.
Now, also, my department of revenue--thank you for doing this--just sent out letters to every one of these 15,461 people to whom the State owes a tax refund. Our department of revenue sent them a letter. Please open that letter and don't throw it away. This includes individuals and women and businessmen. All you have to do is open that letter. There is a voucher in there. You fill it out and send it back into the department of revenue, and you will get your money. So please do that. You earned it.
Now, at the Federal level, it is a little more complicated, to no one's surprise--at the Federal level. I tried to get the information from the IRS about how much is owed to my people in terms of Federal income tax refunds. You won't faint with surprise when I say it is hard to get them on the phone. And when we did get them on the phone, they said: We can't give you that information. If we told you, we would have to kill you.
So I went back and did some research. The most recent numbers I have are from 2019. In 2019, tax refunds in the amount of $22 million were owed to the people in Louisiana. These are Federal income tax refunds. This is 2019 now. I don't know what the current number is because the IRS won't tell me. But based on 2019 numbers, it is anywhere from $22 to $25 million, and based on 2019 numbers, about 22,000 Louisianians are owed Federal income tax refunds on top of the State income tax refunds.
And I want to encourage them to check to see if they have a Federal income tax refund. Here is what you need to do. You can call them if you like, but lots of luck. Go to www.irs.gov/refunds_www.irs.gov/ refunds_and you can check to see if the IRS owes you a tax refund.
You are going to need your Social Security number, of course, or your taxpayer ID number. You are going to need your filing status. They want you to tell them the exact amount of your refund. They have all that information, but they want you to tell it to them. Just don't argue with them. Just go ahead and do it, based off your tax return.
And you can make a claim there, online, and give them a reasonable amount of time, and you can get a check from the Federal Government as well.
I used to be the tax collector in Louisiana, and I can tell you that, for a variety of reasons, a lot of people--not just Louisianians but all across America--forget to claim their State income tax refund and/ or their Federal income tax refund. So I hope they will take advantage of this.
I am sorry. I just want to say to them that I am sorry that the Federal Government has let them down. I am embarrassed about Bidenomics. I am sorry about this inflation. It is a cancer on the American dream. I am afraid it is going to be with us awhile. I hope I am wrong. But if we succeed in getting that rate of inflation down to 2 percent, that doesn't mean prices are going to go down. I wish I could sit here and tell you that. These higher prices are coming. What we are trying to do is just stop the increase and stop the crisis from going up so fast. So I hope you will take advantage of this information, not just in Louisiana but all across America, and go claim your tax refunds if you are owed.
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