As inflation continues to tighten its grip on struggling Americans, the crisis doesn’t seem to have an end in sight, at least according to those who critics say could be doing more to combat it, like Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
According to the Daily Mail, during a recent speech at the European Central Bank (ECB) Forum in Sintra, Portugal, Chairman Powell made what many perceived as a shocking admission regarding the inflation issue, admitting how little is understood about it.
“I think we now understand better how little we understand about inflation,” Powell said, adding, “This was unpredicted.”
Powell’s new narrative is the latest in the Biden administration’s multiple attempts to blame the inflation issue on other culprits, first saying last year that the situation was “transitory,” to this year placing a bulk of the blame on Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.
Jerome Powell in 2021 = “Inflation is transitory.”
Jerome Powell in 2022 = “We now know how little we understand about inflation.”
— Douglas A. Boneparth (@dougboneparth) June 29, 2022
Bloomberg TV’s Francine Lacqua was quick to reply to Powell’s surprising admission, saying, “That’s not very reassuring.”
Jerome Powell: “I think we now understand better how little we understand about inflation.”
Host: “That’s not very reassuring”
Jerome : “This was unpredicted”
Only the “experts” and the media didn’t see this coming.
Just about everyone else did.Sound ON pic.twitter.com/6Gv35rXPrW
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) June 29, 2022
Regardless, Powell believes his agency, working with other pieces of the U.S. government, can eventually tame inflation and lead the country into brighter economic times, all without triggering a recession, which many economists say is highly unlikely.
“We believe we can do that. That is our aim,” Powell said with regard to plans for getting a handle on inflation without hurting the economy or sending it into a recession, or worse.
He added: “We are committed to and will succeed in getting inflation down to 2%. The process is highly likely to involve some pain, but the worst pain is failing to address this high inflation and allowing it to become persistent.”
Powell’s latest remarks came on the heels of another round of bad news for the Biden administration, as MarketWatch reported that the U.S. first-quarter GDP — the American economy — shrank 1.6%, adding increased fears that the U.S. will fall into a recession if it hasn’t already.
Economists are predicting that the second-quarter numbers will likely also be discouraging.