President Joe Biden’s Economic Advisers Blame Inflation On Pandemic

Joe Biden
Joe Biden

President Joe Biden’s economic advisers were on the defensive over the high inflation rate even as his popularity went on a nosedive. A sharp spike in inflation has led top administrative officials to defend their economic policies, instead of blaming the pandemic for the debacle.

The inflation rate zoomed to a 30-year high this October. Every sector witnessed a sharp hike in costs. From groceries to gas, surging prices had consumers peeved and has undermined Joe Biden’s efforts to push through a slew of massive spending plans.

Joe Biden’s approval rating had sunk to a new low of 41% a day before the President was to sign the $1.2 bipartisan infrastructure spending bill. The slide in his ratings has been attributed to a lack of confidence in the way he has handled the economy in recent months.

Brian Deese, economic adviser at the White House has conceded that the inflation rate was high at the moment. But he was insistent that this was a worldwide economic trend triggered by the pandemic and was not a result of the flawed economic policies of Joe Biden.

Joe Biden’s Advisers Denies Any Policy Faults

He insisted that the economy and the pandemic were interlinked. He cited the blockages in the supply chain that has been triggered by the pandemic as a major reason for the spike in inflation.

Supporters of Joe Biden’s economic policies have consistently maintained that the passage of the infrastructure legislation and the bigger social welfare bill would rein in inflation in the long run. It would ease the supply logjam and reduce the cost of prescription drugs and child care.

Republicans have insisted that an increase in taxes will only aggravate the situation and lead to a further rise in inflation. This argument has found traction given last month’s rise in inflation.

Janet Yellen, the Treasury Secretary has also echoed the view when she said that the pandemic was the driving force in the rise in consumer prices. She said that the only way to bring down prices was to succeed against the pandemic.