On Friday’s FOX Business Network broadcast of “Kabuto: Coast to Coast,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo commented on the PCE inflation report, saying that inflation is declining and expects it to continue that way. Food companies need to pass on costs, he said. Savings to consumers.
Adeyemo said, [relevant remarks begin around 1:10] “So to understand where we’re going, it’s important to remember where we came from. And if we were talking about a year and a half ago, inflation was much higher. Thanks to the actions taken by the President and the Fed, inflation has declined, and our expectation is that this trend will continue throughout the year, but more will be done to reduce costs for Americans. We know there’s work to be done, and that’s the president’s number one job. That’s why he’s been focused on making sure we lower the cost of prescription drugs. Looking at what he’s done, he’s asking Congress to expand that by making sure that costs don’t go down for all Americans by 2,000 per year on prescription drug purchases going forward. We have to pay more than the dollar amount the president wants to take in terms of building additional housing to lower housing costs and expand the supply of things in the economy that will help lower costs for Americans. There are a number of measures we are considering. We will focus on today.”
Guest host Edward Lawrence then said, “But it’s for a small group of Americans, and it’s about cutting costs. Since President Biden took office, grocery prices, for example, have gone up by 21 % and average hourly wages have fallen by 2.5% (this is from January 2021). So now we are seeing inflation rising again and GDP slowing. Is this the beginning of stagflation?”
Adeyemo replied: If you look at income, it’s growing faster than inflation, and if you look at food costs, it’s also stable. And what we know to be true is that input costs are falling. So one of the things that the president has asked businesses to do is pass these cost reductions.[s]…to the American people. ”
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