WASHINGTON, DC —
President Joe Biden on Tuesday holds a rare
White House meeting with the head of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome
Powell, to discuss soaring inflation and White House attempts to tame the
politically damaging price surge ahead of midterm elections.
اضافة اعلان
In their first
such meeting this year, Biden and Powell will “discuss the state of the
American and global economy,” the White House said, with an emphasis on
inflation.
This is Biden’s
“top economic priority,” the White House said, “as we transition from a
historic economic recovery to stable, steady growth that works for working
families.”
Inflation of
more than eight percent is casting a heavy shadow on Biden’s claims to be
steering the
US economy back to health after the COVID-19-induced crash.
Employment is
back near pre-pandemic levels and growth is strong, but savage price increases
for essentials including food and fuel are driving growing public
dissatisfaction.
The Fed has
raised rates three quarters of a percentage point, kicking off what central
bank officials say could be a series of hikes aimed at calming down the
economy, although there are fears that the unintended result may be recession.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Monday that he backs several more half-point
rate hikes — “until I see inflation coming down closer to our 2 percent
target.”
Biden is
scrambling to ease the pressure on American consumers ahead of November midterm
elections in which his Democrats are forecast to lose control of Congress to
the Republicans.
Biden’s own
approval ratings are barely in the 40 percent range, reflecting his inability
to sell voters on his upbeat message of US economic recovery.
As the election
approaches, Biden has pivoted to more aggressively trying to explain the
inflation phenomenon as a byproduct of forces beyond his control.
These include
the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, which triggered Western sanctions disrupting
the huge Russian energy industry. President Vladimir Putin’s invading forces,
meanwhile, have all but put a halt to Ukraine’s important wheat exports.
Biden calls the
effect “Putin’s price hike.”
Writing in the
Wall Street Journal on Monday, Biden underlined the independence of the Federal
Reserve, but noted that the central bank has “a primary responsibility to
control inflation.”
Biden recalled
that his predecessor Donald Trump frequently launched political attacks on the
Fed and that other presidents had also “sought to influence its decisions
inappropriately during periods of elevated inflation.”
“I won’t do
this,” he pledged.
In the op-ed, Biden said
his long-term plan for economic health includes easing the pace of post-COVID
recovery to more sustainable levels, boosting economic productivity and
reducing the federal budget deficit.
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