Spike in inflation presents further challenges for the Biden administration

Spike¹ in inflation presents further challenges for the Biden administration

Transcript²

NPR's A Martinez speaks to Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, about inflation's economic and political challenges, and the Biden administration's plans to curb³ price hikes.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Consumer prices in March jumped by 8.5% from a year ago. That is the highest inflation rate since December of 1981 and presents further economic and political challenges for the Biden administration. The war in Ukraine has led to a spike in global energy prices, and in response, President Biden says the U.S. will be releasing a million barrels of oil per day from U.S. reserves for the next six months. Yesterday, Biden unveiled plans to waive⁴ restrictions⁵ on a blend of higher ethanol gas, which he says is about 10 cents a gallon cheaper. But as Americans feel the pinch beyond the pump, what else should be done? We're joined by Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council and the president's top economic adviser⁶. So right off the bat, I mean, inflation is hitting all of us - how fast can you provide relief for consumers?

BRIAN DEESE: Well, you're right. The price increase in March had the word Russia written all over it. Putin's invasion of Ukraine is not only causing a humanitarian⁷ catastrophe⁸, but it's taken Russian oil off the market and driven the price of oil up. And so we saw about 70% of the increase in March was due to the rising energy prices as a result. You've also seen the president act, as you mentioned, an historic effort to put a million barrels a day onto the market from our strategic reserves. And yesterday, he was in Iowa talking about steps with E15, which will provide some relief as well. The good news is, since the highs in March, we've seen gas prices come down about 20 cents a gallon nationwide. They're still too high, and we still need to work to try to bring them down further. But ultimately, the global coalition⁹ that we have assembled to combat Putin's aggression¹⁰ is one that we need to keep in place. That will have impacts globally.

MARTINEZ: Yeah.

DEESE: But this is a president that's going to do everything that he can to try to mitigate¹¹ those impacts at home.

MARTINEZ: So you mentioned Vladimir Putin. President Biden referred to Tuesday's inflation report as Putin's price hike. Prices were climbing way before the war. How much longer can the president and the administration continue to blame Vladimir Putin for something that was happening before this even began?

DEESE: Look; this isn't an issue of blame. If you look at the facts, in March, 70% of the increase was from energy, 63% of that was from gasoline. Those prices went up because Russian oil came off the market. But you're absolutely right - price increases are too high across the board. That's not an issue that we have shied from; it's an issue that we have leaned into. This is a global problem. Inflation is hitting record highs around the world - in the U.K., in the Euro area and beyond - because we have a globally supply-constrained economy. So we're focused, practically, in the United States on what we can do to bring that down. That includes the president taking the kinds of actions that he's taken with respect to oil and gas prices. It also includes calling on Congress to take steps to lower costs for consumers. We have legislation in front of the Congress right now that would lower consumers' utility bills, it would lower prescription¹² drug costs, and it would also bring the deficit¹³ down. All of those would help consumers and help moderate on the inflation front.

MARTINEZ: And I realize that it is a global problem. It's happening all over the world. But I think American voters are concerned with what's happening inside the United States. Last year, early 2021, the consumer price inflation rate was under 2%. Today, it's around 8%. I mean, so I think that's what Americans want an explanation on, is how did it get to where it is now from well before the Ukraine war?

DEESE: Well, recall that a year ago, the economy was in freefall and lockdown because COVID had shut down our economy and the - we did not have an effective response to actually keep our economy open and our economy going. What's happened in the period since is we've engineered a recovery that has seen the strongest economic growth in 40 years, the strongest labor¹⁴ market outcomes ever in an American recovery, the unemployment rate down to 3.6%. We have real challenges, but we also have strengths, and we do want to build on those.

MARTINEZ: And I keep going back to 2021 because remember; last year, an article from Larry Summers, who was a former U.S. Treasury¹⁵ secretary, blamed inflation - or, actually, warned about inflation on the American Rescue Plan, which put $2 trillion, almost, into the U.S. economy. That was a response to the pandemic, but those warnings were there from last year. What do you say to that?

DEESE: The American Rescue Plan was a historic effort to provide a recovery plan, a viable¹⁶ recovery plan, to do what we need to do to get COVID under control, to help people. Remember back a year ago, there were lines at food banks miles long. Hunger was up. People did not know where the future of this economy was. As a result of the actions that we have taken and what we've seen happen, we're not talking about a weak labor market and all of the costs that that has for the economy. We're not talking about hunger in America in the same way. We have made a lot of progress as a result. But we have a global challenge. We have a global challenge, and inflation is affecting economies everywhere. And so we have to do what is necessary now to bring those price increases under control.

MARTINEZ: But so, yes, I understand that shelves were empty back then, but now if the shelves are full, people can't afford to buy the stuff on the shelves.

DEESE: Well, just to be clear, you know, we are seeing incredible resilience in this recovery, resilience in the labor market and also resilience in the American consumer. The price increases hurt, and they hit families and their pocketbooks. At the same time, we are seeing consumption sustained through multiple shocks. This economy has been through the shock of delta¹⁷, the shock of omicron and now the war in Ukraine, another global supply shock. And through it all, the American economy has been uniquely resilient. So we have challenges, and affordability¹⁸ is absolutely an issue. It's why the president went out yesterday, took the action to try to bring down a little bit of relief on the gas price front and why we are calling for additional relief to make things more affordable¹⁹ for American families.

MARTINEZ: That's Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council. Thanks for taking the time.

DEESE: Thank you.

1 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

2 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。

3 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

4 waive   

vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等)

参考例句：

• I'll record to our habitat office waive our claim immediately.我立即写信给咱们的总公司提出放弃索赔。
• In view of the unusual circumstances,they agree to waive their requirement.鉴于特殊情况，他们同意放弃他们的要求。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

11 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

12 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。

13 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

14 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。

15 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

16 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

17 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

18 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

19 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。