Part 1: Axne on inflation surge: ‘I’m not worried that this is going to last forever’

Prices for consumer goods across the United States have risen by an average of 6.2% in the past year. That is the highest reported 12-month increase since 1990. Wages are up 4.9% from a year ago, which is up far more typical but still puts consumers on the short end by 1.3%.

Inflation shouldn’t be surprising following a health pandemic and billions of dollars in government stimulus, according to an Iowa State University professor who has studied economics for more than 40 years.

“I think that there was a lot of upward pressure on prices during the last year,” said Iowa State University economics professor Dr. Peter Orazem. “Incomes in Iowa and nationally rose quite a bit, particularly from government transfer payments. A lot of that money ended up being saved, and now that money is starting to flood back into the market. People are looking to spend it, but firms are having trouble keeping up with the supplies, whether it’s supply chain problems or just not finding enough people to produce products. An old cause of inflation is too many dollars chasing too few goods, and that’s exactly what we have now.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne said she isn’t worried that inflation will be a long-term issue. She also attributed the surge to supply chain issues and worker shortages during the pandemic.

“We are seeing inflation because of what is happening in a worldwide pandemic,” Axne said. “We have supply chain issues all around the world at this point. We have not enough workers all around the world. We are not the only country that is dealing with this. When we see a worldwide pandemic and then we see economies coming back and people wanting to purchase but not having appropriate supply chains in place, we are going to see this.”

Part 2: Axne on Miller-Meeks’ decision to switch Congressional districts in Iowa

Based on redistricting, Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ current home in Ottumwa in Iowa’s current 2nd Congressional District would fall in the new 3rd District next year. Instead of staying put and challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, Miller-Meeks said she would move and run for reelection in the newly drawn 1st district for the 2022 election. Here’s what Axne said about Miller-Meeks’ decision.

Part 3: Osceola mayor election filled with twists and turns

A glass candy dish from the Clarke County Courthouse played an important role in breaking a tie in the mayoral race in Osceola. Dave Price explains why the race was so full of drama.

Insiders Quick 6: Inflation

Amid an inflation surge, here’s a look at how much higher some products cost from a year ago.

Watch previous episodes of The Insiders here.