Reversing the trend of inflation, a “top priority” for Joe Biden

Joe Biden finds himself trapped by a strong surge in inflation in the United States, which undermines his argument as a president close to the concerns of the middle class, and darkens his major investment projects, whether they are already voted or still under negotiation.

On the port of Baltimore (north-west), the Democratic president had planned on Wednesday to boast of his $ 1.2 trillion in infrastructure investments, just adopted by Congress, and to defend the $ 1.750 billion he wants spend more in health, family policy, and energy transition.

But when he spoke, against a background of cranes and containers, Joe Biden had no choice, he had to first mention the first concern of Americans today: inflation.

Consumer prices “remain too high”, he admitted. In October, they increased by 6.2% compared to October 2020, according to official statistics, unheard of for … thirty years.

“A lot of people remain confused about the economy and we all know why,” he said, adding, referring to rising prices and supply issues in the United States: “We let’s try to see how we can tackle it head-on. ”

Gone, the reference to a phenomenon of “transitory” inflation which was until now part of the language of the White House.

From now on, curb the rise in prices, and in particular the surge in prices at the pump, is an “absolute priority”, had already declared the president Wednesday morning, in a press release.

A supermarket shelf in San Francisco (California, west) on October 4, 2021 (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / JUSTIN SULLIVAN)

The occasional closures of factories linked to Covid, the congestion of ports caused by a shortage of truckers combined with a strong demand for imported products have considerably increased in recent months the costs of shipping food, furniture, cars, transport. energy and a myriad of other products.

These costs, partly passed on to consumers, cause concern and dissatisfaction, contributing to lower Joe Biden’s confidence rating, which has fallen to 43%, according to the FiveThirtyEight site, which summarizes various surveys.

– “Everything increases” –

On Wednesday, Joe Biden made an effort to heal his image as a president close to the concerns of the ordinary middle class, lamenting that “everything is increasing, gasoline as well as bread”.

But the Democratic president assured that his gigantic spending on bridges, roads, internet networks or drinking water pipes would not fuel the rise in prices. Nor, moreover, than the enormous social spending that it plans and which will, on the contrary, “relieve inflationary pressures”, he assured.

Joe Biden could not savor for long the vote, by forceps, of his infrastructure plan Friday by the House of Representatives. And he had no doubt hoped for a more favorable context for the promulgation ceremony of this law, scheduled for Monday with great fanfare at the White House.

The Capitol, where the United States Congress is located, on November 2, 2021 (AFP / Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)

The Democratic president must now wrest another vote from Congress, this time for his $ 1.750 billion in social and environmental spending.

The negotiations were already promising to be difficult and the inflationary surge further complicates the situation.

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, main opponent of this great social and environmental project, was quick to respond to statistics on Wednesday, assuring that more public spending will only worsen the problem.

“The threat posed by record inflation for the American people is not + transient + and on the contrary is getting worse,” he protested on Twitter on Wednesday.

Republicans on the House of Representatives’ Committee on Trade and Energy said the United States was facing a “Bidenflation” crisis. “Spending billions more on taxes and spending will only worsen the crisis Americans are facing,” they tweeted.

Dt-aue / dax