“It is possible to lower prices, create high-quality jobs and revive the manufacturing industry”
With less than two months left before the midterm elections in November, and with the inflation situation still serious, US President Joe Biden reiterated the importance and significance of legislation on the 13th (local time).
While the analysis that the high cost of living caused by high inflation could hold the Democratic Party in the midst of the midterm elections, the inflation situation is expected to improve further in the future.
“Today’s statistics show that more progress has been made in lowering inflation in the US economy,” Biden said, referring to the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) release.
“There is more work to be done, but this is good news for American families.”
“We need more time to solve the inflation problem,” he said.
“Compared to the beginning of summer, oil prices are down $1.3 per gallon, and grocery stores are showing some signs of slowing inflation,” he said. “We have created a space where working American families can breathe a little.”
“My economic plan shows that while lowering prices, it can create decent jobs and revitalize manufacturing,” he said.
President Biden’s remarks came after the CPI in August showed higher-than-expected inflation.
The CPI for August announced on the same day was 8.3% compared to the same month of the previous year, showing a decline from June (9.1%) and July (8.5%), but exceeding the market expectation (8.0%).
In particular, the core CPI, excluding energy and food, which is highly volatile, rose 6.3% from the same month of the previous year.
The high price issue, which is linked to the economic reality, is disadvantageous to President Biden and the Democratic Party in that it could become a subject of a judgment debate in the midterm elections in November.
In an opinion poll by NPR on the 8th, 30% of the respondents said that inflation was the top concern ahead of the midterm elections, which is still high.
The fact that President Biden emphasized voting for the protection of democracy while raising the so-called ‘MAGA Republican Party’ judgment theory of the far-right with the issue of abortion at the forefront also has an aspect to divert voters’ attention to economic issues.
“The Democrats have done some work in weakening the advantage inflation has provided Republicans,” Brian Stryker of Impact Research, a Democrat polling company, told Bloomberg.
Accordingly, President Biden is expected to continue promoting the theory of the revival of the manufacturing industry through the inflation reduction law and other measures, while at the same time emphasizing that this election is a confrontation between the ‘Defense of Democracy and the Far-Right Republican Party’.
/yunhap news