Biden op-ed

‘My top economic priority’: Biden op-ed lays out plan to fight inflation

The issue has dampened the president’s approval rating and plagued Democrats ahead of the midterm elections.

By QUINT FORGEY

President Joe Biden on Monday described inflation as his “top economic priority” and outlined a three-part plan to lower costs for Americans in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

“I ran for president because I was tired of the so-called trickle-down economy. We now have a chance to build on a historic recovery with an economy that works for working families,” Biden wrote. “The most important thing we can do now to transition from rapid recovery to stable, steady growth is to bring inflation down.”

The White House’s messaging push comes as Biden’s job approval rating among registered voters rests at roughly 42 percent, according to a recent POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, with large numbers of Americans frustrated by a record spike in inflation over the past year.

In response, Biden’s Journal op-ed marked the beginning of a monthlong economic campaign to try to “communicate on our accomplishments to date on the economy,” according to a White House official.

On Tuesday afternoon, Biden is scheduled to hold an Oval Office meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and on Friday, Biden will deliver remarks on the much-anticipated May jobs report.

The April jobs report showed that the United States added 428,000 jobs last month, keeping the unemployment rate at 3.6 percent — just above the lowest level in a half-century. The Labor Department also reported that inflation slowed last month after seven months of gains.

Still, the Federal Reserve moved to counter inflation this month by announcing its largest interest rate hike in more than two decades and laying out plans to shrink its massive bond holdings starting on June 1.

Meanwhile, the issue of inflation remains one of Democrats’ most significant political vulnerabilities ahead of the midterm elections in November, and voters have expressed similar anxieties about rising gas prices and an infant formula shortage.

Although the root causes for inflation are complex, Biden has sought to attribute the phenomenon in part to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which prompted the United States to ban Russian oil imports in March.

Biden also has attacked what he calls “ultra-MAGA” Republicans and highlighted a plan by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), chair of the National Republican Senate Committee, that would raise income taxes on low-income Americans.

As part of the three-pronged approach toward inflation detailed in his Journal op-ed on Monday, Biden pledged that he would first refrain from improperly weighing in on the Federal Reserve’s actions or attempting to influence its decision-making processes.

“I have appointed highly qualified people from both parties to lead that institution,” Biden wrote. “I agree with their assessment that fighting inflation is our top economic challenge right now.”

Second, Biden called on Congress to “help right away by passing clean energy tax credits and investments.” He also demanded that lawmakers take up his plan to make housing more affordable, reduce the price of prescription drugs and work to lower the cost of child and elder care.

“I’ve done what I can on my own to help working families during this challenging time — and will keep acting to lower costs where I can — but now Congress needs to act too,” Biden wrote.

Third, Biden insisted that the United States must “keep reducing the federal deficit,” which he argued would “help ease price pressures.”

Biden’s deficit reduction plan, he wrote, would make “common-sense reforms to the tax code,” including discouraging companies from shifting jobs overseas and requiring higher-earning Americans to pay more in taxes.

“The economic policy choices we make today will determine whether a sustained recovery that benefits all Americans is possible,” Biden wrote. “I will work with anyone — Democrat, Republican, or independent — willing to have an open and honest discussion that delivers real solutions for the American people.”