Rattner: Increasing Immigration Won’t Make ‘Much of a Material Difference’ on Inflation in Near or Medium-Term

During an interview aired on Friday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Wall Street Week,” Steve Rattner, who served as counselor to the Treasury Secretary in the Obama administration, stated that a lack of workers due to stricter immigration policies is not driving the problems with inflation and that changing immigration policy wouldn’t make “that much of a material difference” in the immediate or medium terms

After playing a clip of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink blaming economic problems on policy, host David Westin asked, “Steve, what he’s talking about there in terms of policy-generated are things like some of our trade policies, some of our policies on immigration — where we’re not getting as many workers — indeed, energy policy. He’s saying that’s bigger than just a single fiscal stimulus package. And so, that’s not something the Fed can deal with. Are we concerned they don’t have the tools they need to get the job done?”

Rattner responded, “I would be a little concerned, but for slightly different reasons. I think some of those policy issues are certainly legitimate. But I don’t think the question, for example, of immigration is really what’s driving our inflationary situation at the moment or really would make that much of a material difference in any medium — near or medium-term scenario.”

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