WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden said that tackling inflation is his top economic priority as consumer confidence goes down and prices go up from food to gas.
President Biden met with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in the Oval Office amid an inflation crisis.
“My plan is to address inflation starts with a simple proposition, respect the fed” said Biden.
A major concern is if the Fed can bring down inflation without causing a recession as the commander-in-chief made clear on Tuesday he won’t interfere in their work.
“Chair Powell and the leaders of the fed has noted they have a laser focus of addressing inflation like I am,” Biden said.
“At the end of the day the federal reserve is going to play a key role in fighting inflation,” Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Bharat Ramamurti said.
Ramamurti told Local 10 the president’s plan to combat inflation includes lowering the federal budget deficit, which he says is on track to come down by $1.7 trillion. This plan also includes raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans and big businesses.
This comes as gas prices hit a new record, $4.62 cents a gallon, as oil prices push over $115 a barrel. The White House blames Russia’s war in Ukraine for the spike.
“What the president has done and made clear is that we are dedicated to doing everything we can to stop and push back on that Russian aggression, but it’s going to cause pain for American consumers in the short term, and gas prices are one unfortunate example,” Ramamurti said.
Home prices are up to more than 20 percent nationwide and 32 percent in Miami, but President Biden has a plan for that.
“If we build more houses, that means there is more places for people to live, and prices start to come down for rent and buying a home,” Ramamurti said.
Aside from inflation a bipartisan group of lawmakers did meet on Tuesday to talk about new gun laws, and President Biden said that he will meet with Congress to try and help them reach a deal on gun reform.