A basic description of inflation is “too many dollars chasing too few goods.”
And as inflation in the U.S. is hovering at a 40-year-high, the Biden administration is continuing to push for the pass of the massive $2 trillion Build Back Better spending package.
During an appearance on CNBC on Tuesday, Cecilia Rouse, the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, was asked, “Is it possible as Americans are feeling that pain that that message is a little tone-deaf? And could have really kind of negative impact in terms of consumer sentiment.”
“So, I’m not sure which part is the tone-deaf…” Rouse began.
When asked specifically if the “focus on the spending money” was tone-deaf, she responded, “[President Joe Biden] is focused on reducing costs for some of the most important items for Americans.”
“These are the kinds of investments we need to make, they spend out over time,” she continued.
Watch the video below:
CNBC to WH’s @CeciliaERouse: Isn’t it “tone deaf” to still be pitching the $6 trillion Build Back Better bill when Americans are suffering historic inflation?
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 21, 2022
Rouse: "I’m not sure which part is the tone-deaf" pic.twitter.com/IvTdy6Lr6B
The exchange comes after the latest inflation report found that the consumer price index rose 8.6% in May, the highest pace since Dec. 1981.
According to one estimate, inflation is costing people roughly $460 extra per month, and if you’re on a fixed income or a low-income American, that’s going to bite.
Biden officials like to blame Russian Vladimir Putin for inflation, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
And one adviser to the Democratic National Committee argued that blocking the Build Back Better spending package is actually fueling inflation.
However, some economists estimate that President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid spending package passed last year added between two and four percentage points to inflation.
As CNN notes, several economists predict that at least in the short term, passing Build Back Better could lead to an uptick in inflation.
(Here at Independent Journal Review, we’ve been documenting the Biden administration’s numerous failures to tame price increases. We’ll continue documenting them. You can help by subscribing.)
Rather than apparently consider that they might be wrong, the administration seems convinced that the solution to inflation is to keep pushing the policies that helped get us where we are today.
And at the same time, after failing to predict that inflation would surge after pumping trillions of dollars into the economy, the administration wants Americans to just trust them that more spending packages will help to bring prices down.