USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page said Monday on MSNBC the White House is having a “hard” time convincing Americans the economy is working for them.
Inflation fell in June but remains high after the Federal Reserve passed its interest rate hikes. The Consumer Price Index, which measures the prices of everyday goods such as energy and food, increased 3.0% on an annual basis in June compared to 4.0% in May. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its June monthly jobs report showing only 209,000 jobs were added, less than what economists predicted and less than the 309,000 job increase in May.
Page said the White House faces a “dilemma” because Americans are living with the realities of inflation daily. (RELATED: US dollar At Weakest Level Against Peso In Eight Years As Biden Touts Economic Success)
“You know, here’s the dilemma for the White House. So they clearly need to do a better sales job, especially in talking about things like the strong job market, the fact that inflation eased, we had good inflation numbers at the end of last week. But a sales job only goes so far when you’re talking about the economy, because that’s something Americans live with every day of their lives in their own families,” Page said.
“It’s hard to convince people things are going well if they’re having trouble meeting their bills, if they’re having trouble keeping their kids in college, or paying the rent. And Richard Haass, you’ve had experience at the White House, what can — what can the White House do on an issue like this to change the public’s perception about what is going on in their own lives?”
“Well, you know, what the White House can do is one is hope that things continue to get slightly better there,” President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haass said, adding it would not be “easy.”
Haass said the White House should “educate” Americans and create a “narrative” that there are things that have gotten better.