WASHINGTON – President Biden acknowledged Monday that prices are still “too high” and argued that companies should lower them after an 18% jump in consumer costs since he took office.
“We know that the prices are still too high for too many things – the times are still too difficult for too many families,” the 81-year-old said near the White House.
“We’ve made progress, but we have more work to do,” Biden added. “Let me make it clear to any company not lowering their prices, even though inflation has gone down, and supply chains have been rebuilt: It’s time to stop the price hikes and give the American consumer a break.”
Prices of some goods, such as food products, are expected to decline in the coming months, but periods of general deflation are rare in US history.
Biden previously used his bully pulpit to try to pressure oil companies to take action to lower gas prices last year.
President Joe Biden speaks about supply chain issues in the India Treaty Room at the White House complex in Washington on November 27, 2023. AP
The president also attacked Republicans on Monday, saying they “want to go back to the bad old days when companies looked around the world for the cheapest labor they could find, only to send the jobs overseas and then import the product. back to the United States. States” — even as opposition to outsourcing became a key issue for former President Donald Trump.
“Now we’re building products here and exporting products overseas,” Biden continued. “We do not import [sic] job. Folks, we don’t import anything other than what we make.”
Trump, 77, is seeking a re-election with Biden next year and has pledged more aggressive populist economic policies to “detach” the US from China and use tariffs to force other countries to agree to measures that boost US competitiveness.
Biden attends an event on supply chain resilience with members of his cabinet and administration in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on November 27, 2023. Getty Images
Biden’s economic appeal comes as Americans’ concerns about their economy and finances dominate opinion polls on key 2024 election issues.
He unsuccessfully tried to turn the tide of public pessimism by arguing the economy was doing well as a result of what he called “Bidenomics.”
A New York Times and Siena College poll of six states found earlier this month that 81% of voters rated the economy “fair” or “poor” — with 59% saying they trust Trump on economic policy while only 37% said the same about Biden.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg talked about the supply chain while introducing President Joe Biden. Getty Images
Republicans have blamed Biden’s policies for contributing to inflation and a study this year by the Federal Reserve found that federal stimulus contributed 2.6% toward inflation, or about a quarter of inflation above the normal annual target of 2% since Biden took office.
Biden has emphasized other factors driving inflation, including supply chain issues linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising energy and food costs linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Annual inflation has eased this year due to aggressive interest rate hikes, though it remained up 3.2% in October and interest hikes are causing new pain for consumers, driving the average credit card rate to 27.81% — roughly double the current 14.6% APR. Biden took office — and the average 30-year home mortgage rate has jumped from 2.65% to between 7 and 8% this year.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
