In mid-June red hot inflation reared its ugly head in America once again, as the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) report indicated that inflation in June rose at the fastest pace in over 40 years. U.S. president Joe Biden has been in office for 18 months now, and media reports are beginning to note his administration was wrong about inflation and his administration has made “dubious claims about inflation’s peak.” Meanwhile, the Biden administration and a few reports suggest there are “signs inflation may have peaked” in the U.S., as prices of commodities and oil have dropped in recent times.
Paul Krugman Says ‘I Was Wrong About Inflation,’ Larry Summers Claims ‘Odds Are Probably Better Than Half That a Recession Will Start Next Year’
Bitcoin.com News published the June CPI Report on July 13. It noted that inflation metrics for that month showed a 9.1% increase year-over-year. Inflation in America rose to its highest level since November 1981, with a 6.1% increase recorded June 2022. At the time, the White House noted that CPI data had been out of date since the Bureau of Labor released them.
Following the latest CPI data, reports noted that West Virginia’s senator Joe Manchin snubbed Biden’s climate bill over inflationary concerns. While the sitting president has been criticized heavily for the inflation, on July 15, senior White House correspondent Alexander Nazaryan stressed in an editorial that inflation has become “Biden’s political nightmare.”
Inflation has jumped so high that the American economist and Nobel winner, Paul Krugman, wrote an article for the New York Times noting that he was “wrong about inflation.” Krugman specifically talked about the American Rescue Plan and he mentioned that some economists warned it would lead to rising inflation. Krugman said that he like many other Keynesian economists were more “relaxed” about the stimulus package.
“As it turned out, of course, that was a very bad call,” Krugman wrote on July 21.
Krugman mentioned Larry Summers quickly, an ex-economic adviser of former President Barack Obama. Summers discussed a potential recession at the Aspen Security Forum. Summers explained that the “odds are probably better than half that a recession will start next year.” The economist also touched upon the prices of crude oil and commodities, and further highlighted problems with “the geopolitical situation.”
“I think this will depend a lot on what happens outside the economic realm,” Summers said at the Aspen Security Forum. “It will also depend on how lucky and, you know, how skillful the [Federal Reserve] turns out to be … They’ve got a very, very difficult problem of balance in setting monetary policy, given the situation in which we find ourselves,” he added.
Biden’s ‘Half-Truths and Outright Fibs’ Called Out
A few recently published reports are started to call out the Biden administration’s “dubious claims about inflation’s peak.” For instance, Kevin A. Hasset, an author from nationalreview.com discussed Biden’s excuses and a “new all-time low for economic communication.”
“Biden is even claiming that two negative quarters in a row are not a recession,” Hasset writes. Hasset, a senior adviser to the National Review Capital Matters, concludes by saying “students of economic history know better. Indeed, there will be no controversy whatsoever when the story of this year is written, and that history is worth keeping in mind while the spin machine spins.”
On July 20, 2022, two opinion contributors for The Hill, EJ Antoni and Stephen Moore, published a post called “Biden’s six favorite lies about inflation and the economy.” The authors summarize “the most economically consequential deceptions of the Biden administration.”
Deceptions include telling people “Nobody making under four hundred thousand bucks will have their taxes raised,” which turned out to be false. They criticized the White House’s statements that inflation was worse in all countries except the United States and Biden’s assertion that the economy had stalled 18 months before he took office. Moore and Antoni claim that Biden exaggerates, just like the time the U.S. President claimed to the press that he is responsible for creating the most job-creating economy of modern times.
“This is more an exaggeration than a bold-faced lie,” The Hill’s opinion contributors wrote. Lastly, the authors give Biden flak for saying American families are carry less debt and savings are up under his administration and how Biden has noted that he’s been doing everything he can to get gas prices lower.
“Perhaps none of these half-truths and outright fibs should be too surprising — What should we expect from the administration that first denied inflation, then said inflation was transitory, then claimed it was only a high-class problem?” the opinion authors conclude.
Biden has also been accusedPeople were told that if they had been vaccinated, they wouldn’t catch Covid-19. This was at least four times previously. Despite having received all the boosters and recommended vaccines, President Obama is still in isolation.
Moreover, a report published by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) now claims “there are signs inflation may have peaked,” according to specific signals in the U.S. economy. The WSJ cites the chairman of Evercore ISI, Ed Hyman, when he “pointed to many indicators that 9.1% might have been the top.”
What do you think about Krugman’s latest article and Summer’s odds concerning a recession in the U.S.? Do you agree with the criticisms that Joe Biden, the U.S. President is receiving for making statements regarding the economy? Comment below and let us know how you feel about the subject.
Image creditShutterstock. Pixabay. Wiki Commons
DisclaimerThis article serves informational purposes. This article is not intended to be a solicitation or offer to sell or buy any product, service, or company. Bitcoin.com is not a provider of investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. This article does not contain any information, products, or advice that can be used to cause or alleged result in any kind of damage.