White House officials celebrate the latest Consumer Price Index report in an attempt to pressure dubious lawmakers concerned about inflation to vote on the $ 3.5 trillion democratic reconciliation bill.
The new report, released on Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed that month-on-month prices rose 0.1% in August. The mark was the lowest since February 2021 and fell below the 0.3% increase forecast for economists for the month.
Inflation for the year remains high by recent historical standards, up 5.3% for all items in the last twelve months, but White House officials were steady that Tuesday’s report shows that President Joe Biden’s economic agenda is working.
“The history of today’s data is that monthly price increases continue to moderate: today’s report showed core inflation below expectations and that it was slowing this month compared to the last two months, from 0.9% to 0.3% to 0.1%, ”a senior White House official said. told the Washington examiner the report.
He said President Joe Biden’s coronavirus stimulus package, the $ 1.9 trillion US bailout plan, provided “the economic and public health tools we need” to continue to drive economic recovery. even in the midst of the emergence of the delta variant of the coronavirus.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION REVEALS ACTIONS TO LOW MEAT PRICES AMONG INFLATION CONCERNS
Another White House official suggested that, contrary to the arguments of West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and many Republican lawmakers, the reconciliation package will also ease price pressure on everyday people.
“We also know that the exact type of investments the president has proposed to Build Back Better and the bipartisan infrastructure bill will facilitate inflation in the long run,” the official explained. “Improving roads and trains means companies can get their goods to stores cheaper, which results in lower prices for you. Better childcare means more parents can work, companies they work more efficiently and costs are reduced, and so on. “
The official noted that Biden has stressed this point in recent weeks: “If you are concerned about inflation, you should support the plans he has put forward to grow the economy, keep prices stable and make our economy stronger. eventually . “
The administration largely attributed the CPI increases over the summer to transient supply chain problems and the accumulated demand for services disrupted by the pandemic.
A White House official specifically pointed out to the Washington Examiner that the latest report showed vehicle and food prices, to which the Council of Economic Advisers had previously attributed more than half of 2021 inflation, actually went fall in August.
However, these figures did not take into account the production shutdowns of US carmakers “Big Three” in early September and the White House admitted that unknowns for the coronavirus could lead to additional “highs and lows” in economic recovery.
“But the broader trend supports what we believe and has been repeated by everyone, from the Federal Reserve, to private sector markets and predictors, that inflation is transient as we recover from the pandemic.” , concluded a White House official. “We want to lower the prices of middle-class families and the president is committed to using all the tools available to do so.”
Following the release of the May CPI report, which saw the United States in the midst of the highest inflation since the Great Recession of 2008, the White House slightly changed its stance on inflation. While officials still maintained at the time that Biden’s economic agenda was needed to help the country compete economically with China over the next decade, the White House also began to actively monitor the recovery from inflationary falls. .
To this end, the White House announced in early September a series of actions designed to combat rising beef, pork and poultry prices, including:
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Address illegal pricing, enforce antitrust laws and provide transparency to the meat processing industry
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Give help to small businesses and workers affected by the pandemic
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Give help and support to farmers and ranchers who suffer from the effects of extreme weather
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Convene Congress to make livestock markets more transparent and fairer
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“All in all, these actions will help build a food system that works for the American people above all else,” National Economic Council director Brian Deese wrote in a statement announcing the moves. “They will support families, farmers and workers while preventing the bad actors in the supply chain from pocketing and moving forward without responsibility. This will make the food system fairer and more equitable, more competitive and transparent, and more distributed and resilient. In turn, it will increase the incomes of farmers and ranchers, offer more value to workers and provide consumers with healthy and affordable food produced closer to home. “
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Tags: News, inflation, Joe Biden, Joe Manchin, White House
Original author: Christian Datoc
Original location: The White House is reassuring infrastructure points about the latest inflation numbers