U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) is once again calling attention to the damaging effects of massive government spending on the economy.

The senator has been talking to Alabama private sector leaders about how inflation has increased costs and made it much more difficult to do business in the Yellowhammer State.

In a recent op-ed at al.com, Tuberville explained how local businesses have been struggling recently because of inflation.

“More than one-third of America’s small businesses couldn’t pay their rent last month,” said Tuberville. “Those businesses are the backbone of our economy, supporting almost half of all U.S. jobs, and 37% of them say they’re unable to pay their bills. Our economy is in a perilous position. Job creators face a workforce shortage and an inflation crisis at the same time — all while trying to recover from two years of forced shutdowns.”

The lawmaker noted his recent meetings with Alabama business owners and what their top complaints are in this economy under President Joe Biden.

“From the campaign trail to my time in the U.S. Senate,” he said, “I have had the honor of meeting owners of businesses, big and small, from all across the state of Alabama. I hear two things over and over. One, they need more workers. And two, rising prices are killing them.”

Tuberville argued that if the nation could not solve the current labor shortage, the economy will never be able to fully recover.

“There are almost 11 million open jobs in the United States,” he explained. “However, only 5.8 million Americans say they’re looking for work. This historic divide between job openings and job seekers highlights a problem at the root of our economic woes: lack of workforce participation. Alabamians’ skills, innovation, and determination have the potential to turn this trend around — but only if the government gets out of the way, curbs crushing inflation, and stops disincentivizing the work it will take to get America back on track.”

He also gave examples of how the federal government is spending too much and almost encouraging people to not join the workforce.

“For example, the federal government spent more than $150 billion on enhanced COVID unemployment benefits for more than a year,” he noted, “even as businesses across the country reopened. The enhancement was the largest increase in federal unemployment benefits in our nation’s history. Paying those who could work to stay home was a mistake, and serious misuse of taxpayers’ money.”

Tuberville believes the time has come for Washington, D.C. to get out of the way and allow American businesses to get back to doing what they do best, creating jobs and expanding American prosperity.

“The federal government should do everything it can to get out of their way and encourage that growth,” he advised. “There’s nothing our country can’t achieve when we put in the work.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” Weekdays 9-11am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee