Johnson Polls South Dakota, 94% Facing Inflationary Pressure

Washington, D.C. – This week, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) urged President Biden to reject unnecessary government spending following survey results where 94 percent of South Dakota respondents stated they were experiencing inflation. Read the full letter here.

Johnson surveyed thousands of constituents asking if they are experiencing higher prices at the grocery store, gas station, restaurants, and department stores. 94 percent of participants responded yes; they are experiencing higher prices.

“I conducted a poll of thousands of South Dakotans, and the results were overwhelming – 94 percent of survey participants responded they are experiencing higher prices at the grocery store, gas station, restaurants, and department stores,” said Johnson. “These prices are making it harder for individuals and families to make ends meet, and have created dilemmas for state construction projects, police departments, and school districts. Higher prices are affecting South Dakota across the board.

“Solutions like my bill, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, year-round E15, and increasing domestic energy production can counteract this pressure. I urge you to resist calls from my colleagues to spend our way out of this crisis and turn your focus to policies that will unleash American energy.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index was 9.1 percent higher in June compared to a year ago. Despite government spending exacerbating inflationary pressure, Democrat leadership is pushing for an additional reconciliation spending package.

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Jamie Smith isn’t getting things off on a truthful footing in his new advertisement for Governor:

It’s time South Dakotans had a governor they can trust. Someone who focuses on them instead of climbing the political ladder.

I’m Jamie Smith. Let’s focus on South Dakota. pic.twitter.com/kml9nLBOwq

— Jamie Smith for SD Governor (@RepJamieSmith) July 27, 2022

Wait a minute.. Smith’s commercial claims that the Governor has a jet?  That’s actually not truthful at all:

Read that here.

If Smith is going to lie about something as basically verifiable as the Governor’s plane, it’s not instilling a lot of confidence about the level of “truthiness” he’s going to exhibit in the rest of the campaign.

I don’t know that it means campuses are going back to “wet” dorms anytime soon, but after a nearly 40 year drought, alcohol is coming back to the general public at the major universities’ college ball games:

With the news last month that the Board of Regents approved the sale of alcohol at public universities in the state, South Dakota State is finalizing plans to sell beer at athletic events to the general public in the upcoming 2022-23 school year. The University of South Dakota previously said it plans to do the same. Both schools had previously been serving alcohol in premium seating areas only.

Read it here.

My college experience was on campus about a year or so after they outlawed alcohol from college universities, and then the country started raising the drinking age.  (That means I’m officially middle aged.)  And I don’t think it’s as big a deal as it was made out to be all those years ago.

Every once in a while, having gone to sporting events across the country and being able to order a beer if I choose, I think 40 years later in South Dakota we’re a little less puritan than we used to be, and people are looking for things they are able to experience in more metropolitan areas. Besides our third Starbucks outlet in Brookings.

Johnson, Roy Introduce Bill to Alleviate Pilot Shortage by Raising Mandatory Retirement Age

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced the “Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act” to alleviate the pilot shortage by raising the mandatory commercial pilot retirement age from 65 to 67.

“We haven’t even begun to see the worst of the pilot shortage,” said Johnson. “COVID-19 forced a lot of early retirements, and pilot recruitment is tough. I’ve heard horror stories of South Dakotans missing family weddings due to canceled flights – Americans need reliable travel options. Raising the mandatory retirement age by two years is a safe and effective way to mitigate this shortage.”

A recent study found the pilot shortage in North America is expected to reach over 12,000 pilots by 2023. Meanwhile, nearly 14,000 qualified U.S. pilots will be forced to retire over the next five years due to the federal mandatory pilot retirement age.

The mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots has not been raised since 2007. The Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act does not change any other provision to current law governing pilot retirements.

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Today on Twitter Democrat candidate Brian Bengs, who isn’t going to beat US Senator John Thune, is patting himself on the back because he now has Scott Heidepreim’s endorsement.

I'm proud to have the endorsement of former State Senate Minority Leader Scott Heidepriem! Scott has put people over politics when serving in Pierre to improve the lives of South Dakotans. I'm running to be your Senator to do that same thing: represent the people, not the party. pic.twitter.com/9AyqDTmWF5

— Brian Bengs for U.S. Senate (@BrianBengs) July 25, 2022

Who would have thought a Democrat politician would endorse a Democrat politician? What’s next, a graphic letting everyone know that Susan Wismer has endorsed him?

I think the time to build credibility among one’s own party passed with the primary.

South Dakota loves Mike Rounds and John Thune, as Morning Consult points out we have two of the most popular US Senators in the nation:

America’s Most Popular Senators:

John Barrasso (R-WY): 70%
Cynthia Lummis (R-WY): 63
Mike Rounds (R-SD): 60%
John Thune (R-SD): 60%
John Hoeven (R-ND): 57%

*Approval among registered voters in each state. Surveys conducted April 1- June 30, 2022https://t.co/VGRKXRiSq0 pic.twitter.com/gy05NPbMZG

— Morning Consult (@MorningConsult) July 25, 2022

People are leaving Democrat-run states in massive numbers for @KristiNoem’s South Dakota.

People just “want to live somewhere where the leaders respect the law.” pic.twitter.com/Q21i1HvxhL

— The RGA (@GOPGovs) July 24, 2022

I have some personal things which will bring me to the east coast in a couple of weeks, including stops to see my daughter working on Congressman Dusty Johnson’s staff, and possibly catching up with my son on the USS Montana.

Given the amount of time I’ll have in our nation’s capital, and the fact I’ve largely been shut out of DC frivolity over the past 2 years due to COVID, I think that it’s time to revisit and review who has the best Fish & Chips in the DC Area.

I know Eamonn’s in Alexandria didn’t get past COVID, and they closed the Rí Rá Irish Pub in Georgetown (dammit), but the Dubliner is still a short distance from Union Station, and The Queen Vic is still up and running.

From the 2018 tour, Daniel O’Connell’s Irish Restaurant and Bar had high marks and looks to still be in operation, so I’m definitely putting that on the itinerary.

What am I looking for? I’m mainly looking for a well cooked and generous portion of fresh haddock or cod. On the chips, I want something that seems truer to what chips should be, as opposed to frozen steak fries from Hy-Vee.

So, three return visits at least in the planning stage, and we’ll see what else I can scare up for the trip between now and then.

When Democrats took office in January 2021, Congress had just passed a fifth bipartisan COVID relief bill that met essentially all current pressing COVID needs. Still eager to spend more, Democrats then passed a massive $1.9 trillion piece of legislation under the guise of COVID relief that flooded the economy with unnecessary government money, and the economy overheated as a result. Then, despite steadily climbing inflation in the wake of their bill, Democrats seemed incapable of learning from their mistake, and they spent last fall attempting to double down on the failed strategy that helped get us into this mess in the first place.

Fortunately, Democrats’ plan for a second spending spree failed last December, but it’s become clear that they’re not giving up. Right now, they’re trying to pass a new version of their tax-and-spending spree where they plan to hike taxes on small businesses.

While President Biden was on the campaign trail, he touted, among many things, that he would repeal the tax cuts from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – the tax relief legislation Republicans passed in 2017 that helped increase wages and incomes, boost economic growth, and drive the poverty rate to a record low. The president falsely claims that the bill solely benefitted high-income earners and corporations when it was actually lower- and middle-income Americans who are the ones who saw some of the biggest benefits from Republicans’ tax relief legislation. The effects of tax reform on business investment, wages for working families, and tax revenue were a boon to the American people and our economy.

I wish we had continued down that path of growth and opportunity, but Democrats have decided to take another route. The president claims he ran for office because he was tired of the “trickle-down economy” and that he wants to build an economy “that works for working families.” But as families across the country know, President Biden’s economy is not working for them.

Inflation is at its highest level since November 1981 – a staggering 9.1 percent. Everywhere South Dakotans look, they’re facing price increases. I was recently back in my hometown of Murdo for an all-school reunion, and some folks told me that business profits are down by 30 percent or more this year due to high gas prices and soaring inflation. Like many small towns across South Dakota that rely heavily on the tourism industry, record-high inflation has stunted travel and resulted in a significant loss in revenue.

It’s abundantly clear that raising taxes would likely lead to a combination of lower wages for workers, lower returns for business owners, and higher prices for goods and services. When you combine that with inflation and more unnecessary government spending, you have a recipe for continued economic misery for American families and communities across the country. If Democrats really wanted to help American families, they’d be focused on making all of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax cuts permanent. I am doing everything in my power to stop the Democrats’ newest version of their reckless tax-and-spending spree. South Dakotans have suffered enough.  

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July 12. That is the day Feeding South Dakota – a hunger relief organization – hit its budget for the month of July. With more than half the month to go, there are needs to be met – families and children that need the food they provide. Feeding South Dakota has seen fewer donations likely caused by the lack of surplus in kitchen pantries and in wallets because of inflation.

In the past 12 months, there has been a 20% increase in families visiting Feeding South Dakota mobile food distributions. Pierre has seen a 13% increase. Sioux Falls a 28% increase. And Rapid City is seeing a 33% increase in families needing assistance.

The reality is that food prices are much higher than last year. It’s been reported that an average family of four is spending around $100 more per month on their groceries than they did last year. 

The cost of just about everything going up, especially the cost of fuel. Gas prices have increased by 60% and energy is up 41%. An additional $100 a month isn’t a small number – average earnings can’t keep up with the unprecedented inflation – this puts families in a lose-lose situation. Choosing whether to pay for electricity, heating, and cooling, gas for your commute to work, or putting food on the table is a decision many families are facing today.

I’ve opposed more than $9 trillion in Washington spending bills because I know the impact this spending has on real people. Decisions in Washington, D.C. to spend more money has created too many dollars chasing too few goods, but surprisingly enough, the top issue I hear from most business owners in South Dakota isn’t inflation, it’s the labor shortage.

According to the U.S. Chamber, our nation has 11 million job openings—but only 6 million unemployed workers. We have more than three million fewer Americans participating in the labor force today compared to February of 2020. We need to fill these openings to have a robust economy.

Tackling inflation needs an all-hands-on-deck solution. If Congress stops the reckless spending and folks head back to the office after a two-year hiatus, we can get back on track. I’m grateful for organizations like Feeding South Dakota for filling the gap as so many families are feeling the impact of rising inflation.

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