Spin city: White House touts Biden ‘economic blueprint’ as recession fears mount
A new “economic blueprint” released by the White House on Friday claims President Biden has set the stage for a booming, post-pandemic recovery — despite near-record inflation and widespread fears of a devastating recession.
Hours before the president’s visit to the battleground state of Ohio, the self-serving, 58-page document said Biden’s “bold and decisive action” had “laid the foundation for the strongest and most equitable economic recovery in modern history.”
It also touted Biden’s purported “significant progress” battling inflation, pointing to “a decline of more than $1.20 in gas prices this summer” — despite the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded having surged to a record $5.016 on his watch, hitting the mark on June 14, according to AAA.
In addition, the White House claimed that “overall prices” declined “moderately” in July — when the year-to-year inflation rate was 8.5 percent, a smidgen below June’s 9.1 percent, which was the highest in more than four decades.
July’s inflation report also revealed that wholesale food prices were 1 percent higher than in June, pointing to the likelihood that grocery prices will keep climbing for months.
The spin from the White House came just one day after the Ipsos polling group released data showing that 66 percent of Americans surveyed said the country was on the wrong track, with 30 percent pointing to the economy, unemployment and jobs as its biggest problem.
Even Biden’s fellow Democrats were most worried about the economy, with 23 percent ranking it the nation’s No. 1 problem, along with 36 percent of Republicans and 33 percent of independents.
An ABC News/Ipsos poll on Wednesday also showed Americans had more faith in Republicans’ ability to handle the economy, with 34 percent favoring the GOP, compared to just 25 percent who said they trusted Democrats on the vital issue.
Meanwhile, the BlackRock investment firm warned Tuesday that the Federal Reserve didn’t appear to be “prioritizing economic implications over pressure to curb inflation.”
“We think getting inflation back to central bank targets means crushing demand with a recession,” company analysts wrote.
“The US economy has already stalled. Now we see recession in the cards early
next year.”
Last month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell triggered a 1,008-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average when he said efforts to curb inflation would inevitably “bring some pain to households and businesses.”
On Thursday, Powell said he hoped to “avoid the very high social costs” that accompanied interest rate hikes during the early 1980s and that his goal was a “soft landing” that avoids a recession.
But many experts expect the Fed will raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percent for the third time in a row later his month to try to tamp down inflation.
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who served under President Barack Obama, has repeatedly said inflation won’t be brought under control without massive job losses.
Last week, Summers called hopes for a soft landing “the triumph of hope over experience” and said he’d be “surprised if we get to the [Fed’s] 2% inflation target without an unemployment rate that approaches or exceeds 6%.”
Biden’s trip to the site of a planned Intel chip factory in Ohio came amid a tight race for the US Senate seat held by retiring Republican Rob Portman.
The battle pits Republican J.D. Vance, a first-time candidate who gained fame with his bestselling, 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” against Democrat US Rep. Tim Ryan, who recently admitted that the “Democratic brand” was a liability in many parts of the Buckeye State.
