Two experts expressed concerns about the stability of the US economy, despite signs of growth.
Steve Forbes noted that gold and commodity prices suggested dollar weakness, and that raising interest rates could depress the economy.
Kevin Hassett pointed out that strong retail sales in March were partly due to higher gas prices, meaning consumers had less to spend elsewhere, and called the economy “more wobbly” than the data suggests.
“The economy is growing. However, the gold price commodity prices are telling us the dollar is wobbly,” Forbes Media founder Steve Forbes said.
“The Fed’s got problems ahead,” he added, “and you don’t cure it by raising interest rates and depressing the economy.”
Both attributed high inflation to Biden administration policies, arguing it acts as a greater tax on low-income Americans who are paying higher prices and interest.
They claimed the White House lacked commitment to the economy and accused officials of lying about inflation for political goals rather than addressing its economic impacts.
“One of the reasons why retail sales were so strong is that there were really blockbuster sales at gas stations,” said Hassett, ex-Council of Economic Advisors Chair and Trump administration senior advisor. “The AAA average price in the U.S. went from $3.30 last month to $3.60 this month, and that’s money that people aren’t going to have to spend on other things. And so I think that the economy is more wobbly than these data suggests.”
“Inflation is a tax. And who gets hurt the most? We know who they are: tens of millions of people living paycheck to paycheck and up to their eyeballs in credit card debt, interest rates going up. We’ve discussed here before, what’s the real rate of inflation? It’s not 3%, it’s 7% when you cut interest payments, you have to pay that interest every month,” Forbes said.
“So Joe Biden’s taxing the people who have the least. Yet he’s babbling on about getting to the rich,” the CEO added. “All this… is not about revenue. This is about control. It’s not about growth, it’s about controlling people’s lives.”
“Your job is to help run the economy and have smart policies. And if you want more progressive taxation, then you could talk about how to do that without harming the economy, but to just lie about it the way they do over and over, it really is infuriating,” Hassett said.
