Inflation has walloped the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. But the tribe has taken a step towards meeting the inflation head-on, by pledging to pay workers 10 percent more to help offset price rises in gas, meat, and food, according to The Oklahoman.
“We have not seen a time like this inflation-wise since the 1980s,” said Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear.
The main metric used to track inflation, the U.S. consumer price index, climbed 8.5 percent between March 2021 and March 2022.
“It’s as if someone is taking a pair of scissors and just cutting 10 percent to 15 percent of your paycheck every period. That’s exactly what it is,” Standing Bear said.
Tribal governments like the Osage Nation are employment hubs in rural areas that have few economic engines. But the pandemic hit tribal budgets especially hard after many key revenue drivers, such as casinos, shut down. Tribes started to financially recover after businesses opened back up and federal aid arrived.
But leaders did not count on rising inflation when they set the current year’s budget. The cost of living increase will be funded in part by vacant positions.
