Pres. Joe Biden had a frank conversation about the economy with the American people yesterday. He admitted that the right now there isn't much he can do to lower gas prices and teh cost of food.
"There's a lot going on right now but the idea we're going to be able to click a switch, bring down the cost of gasoline, is not likely in the near term. Nor is it with regard to food," Biden said at the White House.
Signs of economic "shrinkage" started back in April. For the first time in since the pandemic started the GDP dropped.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen confessed that she was wrong about how bad inflation would get.
"I think I was wrong then about the path that inflation would take," Yellen told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room" when asked about her comments from 2021 that inflation posed only a "small risk."
This realization is an indication that cutting checks for the war in Ukraine and the continuing pandemic are slowing the path to normalcy on the economic front more than anticipated.
"As I mentioned, there have been unanticipated and large shocks to the economy that have boosted energy and food prices and supply bottlenecks that have affected our economy badly that I didn't -- at the time -- didn't fully understand, but we recognize that now," she said.
Biden said his administration is focusing on lowering the costs of prescription drugs and child care, which can be done through provision ifrom the Buld Back Better Act.
Meanwhile, CNN reiports that "Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is predicting an economic "hurricane" is in the near future, mainly caused by the war in Ukraine, rising inflation pressures and interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve."