Fact checking website PolitiFact on Wednesday issued a “Mostly False” rating for the claim by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) that higher prices paid by Pennsylvanians are caused by “greedflation,” or corporate greed.
The fact checker reported that while prices have sometimes increased higher than inflation since 2019, “most economists” told it “rising costs for goods and labor have been inflation’s primary drivers” of higher costs, while Federal Reserve regional banks have published studies which “cast doubt on the role of corporate greed in driving inflation.”
Casey raised the claims about “greedflation” during his short speech before the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, where the Democrat declared, “Prices are up because these corporations are scheming to drive them up.”
A spokesman for his Republican opponent, Dave McCormick, said the fact check shows Casey was “lying to the commonwealth about his direct role in creating inflation,” referencing Casey’s voting record that aligns 98 percent with the Biden-Harris policy agenda.
“Voters know that they can’t trust weak, career politician Casey, and that’s why Republicans are going to win big this November,” said the McCormick spokesman.
The PolitiFact analysis of Casey’s claims comes after the outlet previously faced criticism for its questionable fact checks of the COVID-19 mortality rate, and after researchers questioned whether the outlet’s methodology for rating veracity remains consistent across its body of fact checks.
It was also published as the McCormick campaign released its bobflation.com website, which charts price increases of “iconic” products in Pennsylvania. The campaign branded it “Casey Cost Calculator.”
McCormick called the website a tool to “[s]ee for yourself just how much prices have increased” due to “Kamala Harris and Bob Casey’s reckless spending. ” The site revealed that Keystone State favorites, including Wawa sandwiches, pretzels from the Philly Pretzel Factory, and a cheese steak from John’s Roast Pork, saw price increases ranging from 23 to 72 percent.
PolitiFact is not the only group to fact check Casey’s questionable “greedflation” claim, as CNN reporters immediately pushed back on the senator’s claim after the conclusion of his speech before the DNC.
“The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found that corporate price gouging was not necessarily a primary catalyst of the inflation surge of 2021 and 2022,” the outlet rebutted.
Polls continue to depict Casey with a 6.5-point lead over McCormick, according to the RealClearPolling aggregate of data, but recent surveys suggest the race could be statistically tied, as surveys mostly offer results within their margin of error.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Bob Casey” by Tim Nulton.
