President Joe Biden acknowledged in a speech at the White House Friday that Americans were still suffering the effects of high inflation rates and high gas prices, but did not acknowledge his administration’s policies are partially responsible.
“Look, average people are getting clobbered by the cost of everything today,” Biden said, acknowledging that “gas prices at the pump are up” and “food prices are up.”
“Look, hamburger is up four times, four-fold almost in many places,” he added.
Biden spoke about the most recent encouraging jobs numbers reported on Friday, boasting of historic progress.
But the president tried to empathize with Americans who faced higher costs for their daily necessities.
“Look, I grew up in a family where if the price of a gallon of gas at the pump went up significantly, it was felt by the family,” he said. “I get it. I understand.”
Biden did not blame his anti-energy policies or his dramatic government spending programs for causing inflation.
Instead, he blamed big companies for squeezing more profits out of the higher prices without paying more to the producers or offering cheaper prices to consumers.
Biden said he would keep working to bring prices down, but suggested he would focus on government programs to help families pay for child care, elder care, and health care.
“There’s more than one way to help a family when it comes to their standard of living,” he said.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.