As the U.S. deals with the pandemic, hurricanes, floods, fires, drought, derechos and a recovering economy, our Republican Congressional delegation continues to harp on the debt-ceiling and inflation — something they always do when Democrats are in office. I suggest they are speaking out of both sides of their mouths.

In 2017, when Trump became president, the national debt was $19.9 trillion and $27 trillion when he left – the fastest rate of increase of the national debt of any modern president. Under Trump, Congress raised the debt ceiling two times and suspended it in August 2019, through July 2021.

Republicans are saying they will not vote to increase the debt-ceiling because of “socialist-style spending” by Biden. Yet, they continue to push for socialist-styled subsidies for corn, soybeans, livestock and biofuel industries and they stand behind the massive tax-giveaways to the fossil fuel industry, big pharma, major corporations and the morbidly wealthy.

Republicans raise the specter of inflation, yet it seems that one of the driving forces behind inflation is increasing prices for beef, up 12 percent; pork, up 10 percent; chicken, up 7 percent; with wheat, corn and soybeans being traded at the highest levels in the last decade. Who is driving the inflation?

While Grassley, Ernst and Hinson scream about spending, “Record government payments to Iowa farmers, along with improved prices, has led to improved farm income making it possible for farmers to replace aging farm equipment.”

So, by voting against increasing the debt ceiling, wouldn’t Republicans be hurting farmers since the socialist-style aid to them would stop? Wouldn’t curbing inflation hurt Iowa farmers who are profiting from inflation? Or is all this hand-wringing about embarrassing Biden?