Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., recently shared a video rebuking inflation talk as "propaganda," but her constituents do not agree, saying she is the one spreading disingenuous politics.
AOC's 14th Congressional District voters in Queens and the southeastern Bronx told the New York Post they are feeling the economic impact of inflation, adding the Biden administration touting alleged success of "Bidenomics" needs to be held accountable for it.
"Is AOC crazy?" Latisha Law, 41, a nurse, told the Post. "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."
Those approached by the Post could not definitely identify who Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is, but they do know they are paying nearly twice as much for the same goods they regularly buy at grocery stores.
They also expressed concern about running up balances on the credit cards amid inflation, according to the Post.
"I'm working two jobs just to survive," Law added to the Post. "I kill myself just to feed my family. It's much worse now than it was before the pandemic."
The video shared by AOC on Instagram claimed concern about inflation was "gaslighting" to not blame higher prices on "greedy shareholders."
"I think what the government did was take advantage of the pandemic," Iris Vasquez, 61, told the Post. "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 10 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."
Just watch the checkout at the grocery store, Bronx resident Sergio Acevedo, 51, told the Post.
"See that?" he told the Post, pointing to his cart in the checkout line. "I used to be able to buy twice as much food for the same price I paid today. I buy less now and make do. Inflation is worse than ever."
AOC's positions do "not represent" her fellow Puerto Rican descent constituents, retired school teacher Jean Torres, 72, told the paper.
"Puerto Ricans have traditional family values which she does not represent," she told the Post. "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."
The latter comment pointed to AOC's infamous "tax the rich" dress she wore to the big-dollar Met Gala in 2021.
"AOC should not be in Congress," Torres, a former lifelong Democrat who has left the party, added to the Post. "She's not helping us, she's hurting us with her rhetoric and her policies."
A retired paramedic in the Bronx who lives on a fixed income lashed back, too.
"Everyone I know is living paycheck to paycheck now," Ellis Olive told the Post.
"I have to put $300 to $400 on a credit card every month but fortunately I'm able to pay it off in full. A lot of people can't. AOC should get out here and talk to people and see how bad it's gotten.
"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."
Inflation is not only running up credit card balances for those struggling to make ends meet, but it is also cutting into life's savings.
"I had to cash in my 401(k)," Manny Grima, 55, told the Post. "The last few years have been very rough. You go in a store with $100, and it buys almost nothing. I don't understand why [AOC] isn't taking this more seriously."
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