Brooks: White House ‘Too Upbeat’ on ‘Truly Terrible’ Inflation

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks said that inflation is “truly terrible” and the Biden White House “is being too gentle about talking about it, too upbeat” in its rhetoric about inflation. He also said that while other areas of the economy are positive, “the historical record is not good” and “it’s very hard” for the Federal Reserve to bring inflation under control with a “soft landing” that avoids an economic downturn, and this indicates that things might get “bumpier and much more unpleasant for the American people.”

Brooks stated, “Well, it’s complicated. … But inflation is terrible, truly terrible. And I think the White House is being too gentle about talking about it, too upbeat in talking about it. On the other hand, labor markets are quite good, productivity, corporate profits, the stock market’s beginning to kick up, gas prices are coming down. And a post-COVID…slowdown looks very different. The problem is, it’s very hard for the Fed to bring down inflation in a way that’s a soft landing. It’s — the historical record is not good here. So, we may see something bumpier and much more unpleasant for the American people.”

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