White House economic adviser on July inflation: ‘Our work here is far from done’
White House Council of Economic Advisers’ Jared Bernstein says July’s inflation report is ‘no victory lap’ for the U.S. economy.
Following July’s inflation report, which showed prices cooling for the first time in months, White House Council of Economics Advisers member Jared Bernstein claimed the Biden administration still has work to do on "America’s Newsroom" on Wednesday.
"What I can say today is that inflation went up 0% in the month of July," Bernstein said. "So a great [inflation] report following a great jobs report, and a bit of much-needed breathing room; look, no victory lap... There are still elevated prices in key areas."
The Labor Department said Wednesday that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price for everyday goods including gasoline, groceries and rents, rose 8.5% in July from a year ago, below the 9.1% year-over-year surge recorded in June. Prices were unchanged in the one-month period from June.
"Our work here is far from done. I cannot underscore that enough," Bernstein said. "The president will continue to talk about unacceptably high inflation."
When asked how the White House plans to tackle still 40-year-high prices, Bernstein encouraged Americans to look at the "fingerprints" of Biden’s economic initiatives.
Jared Bernstein, a member of the Council of Economic Advisers, says the Biden administration's work tackling inflation is "far from done."
"One of the most important declines in this report is the fall in the price of gas. It's now about a dollar off of its peak from mid-June," Bernstein explained. "There are many factors going into setting the global price of gas, but the release of oil from the strategic reserves is one of them."
But other price increases were extensive in July with inflation remaining stubbornly high: The food index climbed 1.1%, putting the 12-month increase at 10.9%, the highest since May 1979. Consumers paid more for items like cereal, chicken, milk and fresh vegetables.
"I think that some of our efforts are manifest[ed] in the report, but we've got a lot more work to do. Prices are still too high," Bernstein said.
The White House economist also maintained that Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act’s funding of new IRS agents won’t add tax audits for households making less than $400,000 per year. According to the newly passed spending bill, the IRS will receive $80 billion in government funding.
Bernstein also claimed "most" Americans have never been audited.
"I think what's gotten confused in some of this discussion is that finally reversing the long-term defunding — which is, really, in my view, a shadow tax cut for wealthy tax evaders — will not increase audits one iota," Bernstein said.
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He further explained how the IRS' beefing up of staff aims to catch cases of tax evasion, not tax "avoidance."
"What the Inflation Reduction Act does is it enforces paying your taxes for the wealthiest taxpayers," Bernstein told co-hosts Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino. "And I don't think anyone, including you two, would object to that contention."
FOX Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.