As Biden Calls Reporter ‘Son Of A Bitch’ for Question on US Inflation, Who Stands To Gain From It?

© BRENDAN SMIALOWSKIUS President Joe Biden speaks about how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will rebuild the US and the progress made since he signed the bill into law, in the South Court Auditorium of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2022.
US President Joe Biden speaks about how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will rebuild the US and the progress made since he signed the bill into law, in the South Court Auditorium of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2022.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 25.01.2022
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US President Joe Biden has called Fox News reporter Peter Doocy and apologised for calling him a “stupid son of a bitch” at the end of a White House press conference after the journalist asked about inflation. But who benefits from US inflation and how could it affect the mid-terms later this year?
“Biden's answer was clearly a very sarcastic one but it does sort of emphasise again just how polarised things are in the United States, and that's part of the problem that they have,” said Marc Ostwald, Chief Economist and Global Strategist at ADM Investor Services International, while commenting on the US president using an expletive after a question about inflation in America.
As a press conference on Monday, 24 January, was drawing to a close, Fox News journalist Peter Doocy asked Mr. Biden: “Do you think inflation will be a political liability ahead of the midterms?"
"That's a great asset. More inflation? What a stupid son of a bitch," Biden replied, perhaps not realising his microphone was still switched on.
“Clearly, inflation is a problem," Marc Ostwald stresses. "To a certain extent, the comments that we've had out of the White House are basically saying, well, the Fed is in charge of inflation and they'll do whatever it takes and we'll back them. But that doesn't really change things in voters' minds because at the end of the day, they're the ones who are living with these inflation pressures.”

Politics Over Economics?

Inflation in the US has risen from 1.4 percent when Biden replaced Donald Trump in the White House, to seven percent in December 2021, the fastest rise in costs since June 1982. The economic downturn has triggered a fierce debate over Joe Biden’s massive $1.9 trillion spending plan, known as the Build Back Better Agenda, with critics saying it could accelerate soaring inflation.
The Biden administration is benefiting from printing more money because it has enabled them to finance their ambitious public investment plans, Panicos Demetriades, professor of financial economics at the University of Leicester and a former governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus, believes.
U.S. President Joe Biden signs the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 15, 2021. - Sputnik International, 1920, 15.11.2021
'It's Official, Folks!': Biden Signs $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Into Law
Mr Biden's US$1 trillion infrastructure bill was signed into law in November - it will set aside huge amounts to invest in projects ranging from transportation improvements and maintenance to expanding broadband internet and replacing ageing lead water pipes.
"Such large spending schemes have the purpose of rewarding favoured firms and supporters with large lucrative contracts,” Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, a former assistant secretary of the treasury under Ronald Reagan, says. “The infrastructure bill has political purpose, and this purpose overrides other considerations. Moreover, money creation for investments that are productive and contribute to economic growth are not inflationary, as modern monetary theory teaches."
Professor Demetriades said: “In the medium term, once the investment starts materialising there will be job creation, lower unemployment and construction and energy companies will also benefit as public investment plans are focused on the transport, roads and energy sectors. Eventually, we should see increased productivity and growth, if the plans are well-designed and effectively executed.”
He added: “I do feel the US has fallen behind in terms of its infrastructure, which is the basis for long-term growth. It seems the US has an appetite for these investment projects, not just the Democrats…it seems he will get Senate approval for around two trillion dollars of infrastructure spending although initial plans were for more than double that.”

Who Will Suffer From Inflation?

“Inflation in many G7 countries has soared in recent quarters, but policymakers and many commentators have, so far, considered it to be a temporary phenomenon as economies adjust to the recovery from the pandemic,” says Iain Begg, professor at the European Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science. “Many central banks, including the Fed, are taking a very cautious approach and will be looking carefully at whether the rise in prices results in higher wages. If it does, they will be forced to act by raising interest rates. But higher interest rates will be a problem for those who resorted to debt to navigate the pandemic.”
For the public, the rising prices are translating into a fall in living standards, Mr. Begg notes, and it gives rise to dissent, which is “likely to see incumbent parties, such as the Democrats in the US, punished in forthcoming elections, of which the midterms in the US will be especially significant,” he added.
Keen suggested the Democrats would suffer at the midterms, especially if inflation continues to rise, but he added: “Yes, it is likely the Democrats will suffer. But that certainly doesn't mean that the Republicans would do a better job.”
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a meeting with business leaders and CEOs on the need to address the debt limit, on October 6, 2021, in the South Auditorium of the White House in Washington, DC. - Sputnik International, 1920, 20.01.2022
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Timothy Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa, said inflation will be a big liability during the midterms.
"Voters often care most about what are called 'kitchen table' issues. These usually include jobs, the economy, and healthcare. These are the things that usually affect voters directly. It's easy to see that a gallon of milk or loaf of bread costs more when voters go to the grocery store," said Professor Hagle.
He added: "The midterms elections are usually a report card of sorts on the administration, particularly a new administration. Biden has faced a number of problems in his first year, including inflation, and it will give Republicans a lot to use against Democrats in the Congressional and state races.”
Dr. Roberts said: "It is the Covid policies that are responsible for the inflation. If people believe the propaganda that the policies are justified and necessary, the effects of the policies - injuries, deaths, bankrupt businesses, lost jobs and careers, inflation - will be accepted as protection against "pandemic." If people catch on to the facts, the Democrats will be wiped out. This is why the Biden regime is trying to provoke conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The 'Russian threat' can be used to unify the country around the president."
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