Jared Bernstein, an economic advisor to President Biden, said Monday that he believes the White House didn’t miss much on inflation during CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Bernstein stressed that Biden has made inflation his top economic priority, and stated “that there’s always an opportunity to do something.” Inflation reached 8.6% in May and climbed to a new 40-year high.
Bernstein stated that it was an important question and was better than the “gotcha” stuff.
“I believe the most important lesson here is that, when you live in uncertain times and people make the predictions they made, nobody knows about delta or omicron. No one knows anything about Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Berstein stated that in a world of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, you need a White House who understands the importance of insurance policies.
Sorkin continued to press, saying that although Ukraine and the pandemic had made matters worse, there would still “an inflationary story” regardless of those factors.
CNBC’s host asked the White House what it had missed and what its lesson was.
“I don’t believe the White House has missed anything in the following sense. We have a team. I understand you are pushing in a different direction but I believe looking forward is the most important thing. Bernstein stated that the president believes we can do anything with a team of experienced people. “We aren’t content to sit back and hope these forecasts of stable growth and slowing inflation come true.
He stated that he has “never done more” to assist with supply in his career.
According to Quinnipiac’s Wednesday poll, Biden’s approval rating was 33% among Americans and 35% with registered voters.
Bernstein also stated that the war in Ukraine made inflation worse.
So if you look at the president’s three-point plan to fight inflation, number one is Fed independence. It is the main institution that fights inflation here and internationally. Inflation, which is exacerbated by Putin’s war, is in reality a global problem, so we need a fed independent of it,” he added.
After hitting 8.5% in March, inflation rose to 8.3% in April. Over the weekend, the national average price per gallon of gasoline was $5. Sunday’s Washington Post report stated that Democrats could lose the battle for the economy if they don’t change their messaging on inflation and gas prices.
