Scott Bessent's Advice on How to Reduce Inflation Ra...

By Hugh Cameron

U.S. News Reporter

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s novel solution for reducing consumer inflation has drawn bemusement from many online.

“You know the best way to bring your inflation rate down? Move from a blue state to a red state,” Bessent told NBC News’s Meet the Press on Sunday, referencing analysis he said had been conducted by the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).

“Blue state inflation is half a percent higher. And that is because they don’t deregulate, they keep prices up, energy is higher,” Bessent added.

Newsweek contacted the Treasury Department and CEA via email outside of regular hours for comment.

Why It Matters

Affordability has emerged as a central issue in the U.S. in 2025, and has taken on added significance due to its perceived role in the off-year electoral victories recently secured by Democrats. However, President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that grocery prices “are way down” and that talk of an affordability crisis is a “con job” manufactured by his rivals, contradicting the financial realities facing U.S. households. Inflation still sits well above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target and polls show many Americans are struggling to make ends meet.

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What To Know

Some Republicans celebrated the idea as an endorsement of the pro-consumer policies of red states. However, Bessent’s proposal has been largely met with derision from social media users who pointed out that relocating one’s family is a costly trade-off for a modest decrease in inflation, and that other fiscal consequences of migrating to red states could outweigh these potential savings.

“Great message. Tired of high grocery prices? Sell your home, find a new job, buy a new home, move somewhere else, start life over. Magic! Now your grocery bill is $10 less,” wrote one X user.

The CEA does not appear to have published the state-by-state analysis showing the 0.5 percent difference in inflation rates between red and blue that Bessent referenced. The latest regional data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for September found that the 12-month inflation rate was lowest (2.7 percent) for states in the South, all of which voted for Trump in the 2024 election. By comparison, the West recorded an annual inflation rate of 3.3 percent, with both the Midwest and Northeast at 3.1 percent.

A study done by the bipartisan Congressional Joint Economic Committee examined overall cost increases between January 2021 and December 2024. This found a slight correlation with states’ political leanings in favor of red states, albeit with notable exceptions like Florida, which saw one of the largest jumps, and Maine, which boasted one of the lowest.

And beyond relative inflation rates, many pointed out that blue states generally enjoy higher median incomes which help to offset some of these added cost-of-living pressures, as per Visual Capitalist.

“You need to look at the other side of the coin. Move to a red state and watch your income automatically be reduced by at least 20%,” wrote one X user. “If you are really fortunate, it will be cut by 50%. Now you are worse off than ever.”

Users on Reddit noted that a sudden influx of residents fleeing high prices would increase demand for goods and services and in doing so close the inflationary gap between blue and red states.

What People Are Saying

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking to NBC’s Kristen Welker on Sunday, said: “So inflation hasn't gone up. And Kristen, the one thing that we're not going to do is do what the Biden administration did and tell the American people they don't know how they feel.

"They are traumatized and—over the Biden inflation. We have slowed inflation. And we are working very hard to bring it down.”

What Happens Next

According to the BLS’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) print, annual inflation increased to 3.0 percent in September from 2.9 percent in August, while the core inflation rate—excluding food and energy—ticked down to 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent.

During his interview on Sunday, the Treasury Secretary said tariffs were having no impact on overall inflation rates. Bessent said that the U.S. had suffered an $11 billion dollar hit from the 43-day government shutdown, but that he was “very optimistic” about the American economy’s prospects going into 2026.

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