Rising prices are the talk around a lot of kitchen tables these days

Rising prices are the talk around a lot of kitchen tables these days

Transcript¹

The latest consumer prices report is expected to show annual inflation in April was a little lower than the month before — cold comfort to people whose paychecks don't go as far as they used to.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Consumer prices are still climbing much too fast. A report from the Labor² Department this morning shows that annual inflation in April was a little lower than the month before. But that's cold comfort to people whose paychecks just don't go as far as they used to. At the White House Tuesday, President Biden said fighting inflation is now his top domestic priority.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I know that families all across America are hurting because of inflation. I understand what it feels like. I come from a family where when the price of gas or food went up, we felt it. It was a discussion at the kitchen table.

MART?NEZ: It's a discussion around a lot of kitchen tables these days. NPR's Scott Horsley is here now. Scott, annual inflation in March was the highest in more than 40 years. April's figure a little better. What happened?

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE³: Yeah. The annual inflation rate in April was 8.3%, A. That's a little lower than the 8 1/2% in March, but not much, and especially because a lot of the relief came from a temporary drop in gasoline prices last month. That reprieve⁴ was short-lived. Gas prices are now back in record territory. The price of used cars, which was also a big driver of inflation last year, came down a little bit in April. But, you know, inflation is still running 3 to 4 times as hot as the Federal Reserve's long-term target.

MART?NEZ: All right. So what's the outlook for months to come?

HORSLEY: Well, simple math should offer a little bit of relief. We're coming up on the anniversary of the time last year when prices took off, so even if prices don't come down very much, the annual increase should look smaller. Other prices are still climbing, though. Last month, for example, there was a big increase in the price of airline tickets, and we could see more of that this summer as people are traveling more. New price - new car price - prices continue to climb. And rent increases are just really starting to show up in the data. So it may turn out that March was the peak month for annual inflation, but the slide down from that peak looks to be slow and bumpy⁵.

MART?NEZ: Now, inflation has really been a big drag on President Biden's approval rating. What, if anything, can he do about inflation?

HORSLEY: Not a whole lot. He did order the big oil releases from the Strategic Petroleum⁶ Reserve, and you can see how much good that's done. He's also tried to address some of the transportation snarls⁷ around the country. Biden was asked yesterday about lifting some Trump-era tariffs⁸, which could lower the price of imports from China. He said the administration is talking about that but hasn't made any decisions. Ultimately, inflation's not really something the president has a lot of power over. The - Biden acknowledged that it's really the Federal Reserve's job to take care of this.

MART?NEZ: So what can the Fed do?

HORSLEY: Well, it can use its sledgehammer. It can raise interest rates to cool off demand. The Fed has started making it more expensive for consumers to borrow money in hopes that will have people buying less. And it'll turn this, you know, boiling economy down to a simmer. The central bank raised interest rates by half a percentage point last week and also signaled that two more of those jumbo rate hikes are likely in June and July. This has caused some uncertainty⁹ about the outcome and some wild swings in the stock market. But Chris Waller, who sits on the Fed's board of governors, says he and his colleagues are ready to dish out some strong monetary¹⁰ medicine.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHRIS WALLER: At this point, I don't care what the reasons are. Inflation's too high, and my job is to get it down. That means we have to raise rates. We have to cool off demand and try to get inflation pressures down. If we get some help from supply chain resolution, that's fantastic. But I'm not counting on it.

HORSLEY: By the way, Waller will soon have a new colleague on the Fed board. Last night, the divided Senate confirmed Lisa Cook along straight party lines, with Vice¹¹ President Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. Cook will be the first African American woman to serve on the Fed's governing board.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Scott Horsley. Scott, thanks a lot.

HORSLEY: You're welcome.

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 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。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

5 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

6 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

7 snarls   

n.（动物的）龇牙低吼( snarl的名词复数 )；愤怒叫嚷（声）；咆哮（声）；疼痛叫声v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的第三人称单数 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• I don't know why my hair snarls easily. 我不知道我的头发为什么容易缠结。 来自辞典例句
• She combed the snarls out of her hair. 她把头发的乱结梳理通。 来自辞典例句

8 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

9 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

10 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。