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What does the White House plan to do to combat inflation?

Transcript¹

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, about what the Biden administration is doing to take on inflation.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

President Biden got some tough news over the weekend about what many Americans think about his presidency² one year in. A new NBC poll finds that nearly three-quarters of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction. And 6 in 10 say that with rising prices, their family income is falling behind the cost of living. So what's the administration doing to change that? Brian Deese is director of the White House National Economic Council. And he joins us now. Good morning.

BRIAN DEESE: Thanks for having me.

MARTIN: Have you been to the grocery store recently?

DEESE: I have, indeed.

MARTIN: And I'm sure you have noticed - prices are way up from what they were a year ago. I mean, you can attribute a lot of this to supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, for sure. But what levers can the administration pull to get inflation down?

DEESE: Yeah. Look; there's no question that the high prices are having an impact on Americans when they go to the grocery store, when they go to the gas station. And also, it's affecting their outlook on the economy. It's also undeniable that last year, we had one of the strongest economic periods in recent memory, the strongest economic growth in 40 years and a very strong labor³ market, the most jobs created ever on record as a country. So the real question is, how can we keep that strong growth going that is generating new job opportunities, particularly for people at the bottom end of the wage spectrum⁴ while getting prices in check? And you mentioned that supply chains are top on our list. We have seen historic disruption over the course of this crisis. And by making our supply chains more resilient, bringing more of that production back here to the United States, we can address those prices, for example. A third of the price increases people are facing are cars. And the reason why we - our prices are up is we don't have enough semiconductors⁶ to build in the cars that Americans need. So that's - those are the issues that we're tackling head on.

MARTIN: So those are longer term solutions, though, right? I mean, increasing manufacturing here domestically, that's a long-term game. What can you do in the short term so people can see a difference in their family incomes in less than - you know, it takes a long time to build a new car plant.

DEESE: Absolutely. And if you think about the supply chains, they operate in the immediate⁷ and the medium term. So to give you a concrete example - last fall, we heard a lot about the supply chain challenges keeping people from being able to get the goods that they wanted for Christmas and for the holidays. So we've worked with the ports across the country, particularly LA and Long Beach, where 40% of the goods come into this country. We brought business and labor together. We got them to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And we largely have related those concerns about presents and goods not being on shelves during the holidays. Those are immediate actions we can take to reduce the cost of moving things through the supply chain. But over the medium term, I would say, Rachel, we, for 20 years, have under-invested in building our own supply chain, our own semiconductor⁵ capability⁸ here in the United States. The sooner we do that - the president was with the CEO of Intel on Friday and asked for a $20 billion investment in Ohio to build some - creating good jobs, but also building our own capability to make those innovative⁹ chips. The sooner we do those types of things, the better, even if it's going to take a little bit of time to build those.

MARTIN: Right. But it's - as you know, politics is about the moment. And Americans are going to want to see a change. And in the short term, how much influence can the Federal Reserve make here? I mean, should the Fed be moving faster to raise interest rates?

DEESE: Well, we were expecting an interest reset¹⁰. And we recognize that the decision that they are making is appropriate. But I would say, for anyone who's focused on prices, the most immediate thing we can do to actually lower the cost that American people are facing is to lower the kitchen table costs that affect a family's monthly budget, the cost of health care, the cost of child care, the cost of prescription¹¹ drugs. And we have legislation in front of the Congress right now that would, in a commonsense¹² way, reduce those costs for a typical American family, cap the price of insulin, cut the cost of child care so that no middle-class family has to pay more than 7% of their income in child care. If we do those things, and we do them in a way that is paid for - and so it doesn't add to any inflationary pressures in the economy - we would actually get more people into the workforce¹³, ease price pressures and importantly, reduce the kitchen table costs of families with this.

MARTIN: We'd love to have you on again to talk more in depth about this. Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council at the White House. We appreciate your time this morning.

DEESE: Thanks, Rachel.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE VENTURES' "WALK DON'T RUN")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

5 semiconductor   

n.半导体

参考例句：

• In the beginning,engineers hoped to use semiconductor lasers.在开始时，工程师们希望能够利用半导体激光器。
• The main agent of the company brand semiconductor sales.本公司主要代理各品牌半导体销售。

6 semiconductors   

n.半导体( semiconductor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Crystals may be insulators, semiconductors, or conductors. 晶体可以是绝缘体，半导体，或导体。 来自辞典例句
• Semiconductors containing such impurities are called p-type semiconductors. 含有这类杂质的半导体叫做P型半导体。 来自辞典例句

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

9 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

10 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

11 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

12 commonsense   

adj.有常识的；明白事理的；注重实际的

参考例句：

• It is commonsense to carry an umbrella in this weather.这种天气带把伞是很自然的。
• These results are no more than a vindication of commonsense analysis.这些结果只不过是按常理分析得出的事实。

13 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。