Yesterday, the White House came out with the below video, warning the public that the inflation readings were going to be “extraordinarily elevated”. That in itself is the first qualm I have – the very fact it is being done at all.
Why do insiders need to know the CPI reading ahead of time, preparing speeches to try justify the figures and mitigate the fallout? Just release it and face the music – trust that the people are smart enough to make judgments for themselves. Unless, of course, these readings are so bad that you need to spin the story.
NOW – White House warns of "extraordinarily elevated" inflation data.pic.twitter.com/3ZDqpHFgoc
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) April 11, 2022
Blame Putin
The second issue I have with the above announcement, and this applies to politicians’ responses in general, is the use of Putin as a scapegoat for inflation, blaming him for dumping gross inflation on all our doorsteps. Look, I have no interest in defending Putin, but he did not create this inflation.
We expect March CPI headline inflation to be extraordinary elevated due to Putin’s price hike
Sure, it has of course been worsened by the Russian invasion, but referring to this as the “Putin price hike” rather than “outrageous inflation sparked by our unprecedented money printing” is simply incorrect. What’s more, I would actually go as far as saying it is completely condescending to the American people, to think that they will buy the argument that all the money printing has not affected inflation.
Russia invaded Ukraine four days before the end of February. That is only six weeks ago! February inflation
