AOC says claims of inflation are 'propaganda'

After Democrat New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) promoted a message that inflation was "propaganda" and that "greedy shareholders" are the reason prices are high last week, constituents in her 14th district have said they want her to "talk to real people and see how bad it has gotten." 

A reporter from The New York Post asked residents of AOC's district what they thought about her sharing a video from New Zealand’s left-wing Aotearoa Liberation League on her Instagram that promoted the idea that inflation occurs because of price-setting actions from corporations. 

Certified nursing assistant and city resident Latisha Law, 41, asked, “Is AOC crazy?” She added, "Has she been to a grocery store recently? $1,000 ain’t nothing no more. $100 ain’t nothing no more."

"Maybe she should spend some time in the projects and really help people," Law continued. "I’m working two jobs just to survive."

“I kill myself just to feed my family. It’s much worse now than it was before the pandemic," she added. 

Another resident, Iris Vasquez, 61, told the outlet, "I think what the government did was take advantage of the pandemic." She continued, “You can’t put this all on big companies. Prices went up high then and they’ve stayed high. I think it was just an excuse to make us spend more money."

"I had to pay ten dollars for eggs at one point! Sometimes I have to go all the way to the Food Bazaar near Yankee Stadium to get better prices but then I have to Uber back. I don’t think inflation has ever been this bad,” she added. 

Retired teacher of Puerto Rican descent, Jean Torres, 71, said, "AOC does not represent true Hispanic beliefs or values." She noted, "Puerto Ricans have traditional family values which she does not represent." 

"And for her to act as if inflation being something other than the government’s fault? Well since I don’t have someone to pay for my $30,000 dress for a gala like she did, it’s much easier for me to see the truth," Torres said about a white dress that had the phrase "Tax the Rich" on the back, which AOC wore to the 2021 Met Gala. 

She noted that her whole family votes Republican now and that "AOC should not be in Congress" because "she's not helping us, she's hurting us with her rhetoric and her policies."

"AOC should get out here and talk to people and see how bad it’s gotten," another resident, Olive told The Post. "Prices have gotten insane and someone needs to do something about it. The economy is a mess and just calling it all ‘propaganda’ is ridiculous.”

The video AOC shared on Instagram story last month from the Aotearoa Liberation League claimed that "Propaganda around inflation and cost of living is so powerful, that we forget the very basic fact that corporations set the prices for their products. "

"If a corporation raises its prices and then makes record profits, that's not some invisible monster. It's just a bunch of greedy shareholders," the person in the video added. 

According to the US inflation calculator, inflation stayed below 3 percent all of 2020 until April 2021, when it went over 4 percent and remained above five percent all the way until April 2023, with a peak at 9.1 percent in June 2022.