Checks and Balance: Price control

Checks and Balance from The Economist

The Economist

Politics, News & Politics, News, Us Politics

4.6 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2022

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Despite a remarkably strong labour market, predictions of an imminent downturn are everywhere. The disagreement now is not over whether the Federal Reserve should fight inflation, but how painful the consequences of doing so will be. In trying to fix one problem, will the Federal Reserve create another? How much should Americans blame President Biden for the increasingly gloomy outlook? And what can the administration do to protect both the economy and its own electoral future?

We ask Dr Cecilia Rouse, chair of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors, whether America is heading for recession and why the post-pandemic economic paradigm is different. We go back to the 1970s to find out why inflation is so politically toxic for the Democrats. And our US economics editor Simon Rabinovitch looks beyond the midterms to see whether President Biden has a way out.

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Here in the UK, we sell amazing products and services the whole world once.
0:04.4	At the Black Farmer in Devon, our producers enjoyed on both sides of the Atlantic.
0:09.8	We're McKinnon and Saunders from Manchester and our puppets are watched on six continents.
0:14.8	So whether you're new to exporting or experienced,
0:17.4	explore global growth for your business with free support from the UK government,
0:21.6	access information, training, events and expert advice to help you find new customers overseas,
0:27.2	visit great.gov.uk to get started.
0:36.0	Wherever you go in America, in all 50 states, not to mention about 120 other countries
0:41.6	around the world, the golden arches of McDonald's hold out a promise.
0:47.0	It's a promise of affordable indulgence, production line predictability,
0:52.0	an optimistic empire offering opportunity to the thousands of entrepreneurs who run its franchises
0:57.7	and instant gratification to the hundreds of millions of people who eat in them every year.
1:03.6	But in the economic weirdness of post-pandemic America, even McDonald's is having to adjust.
1:09.4	Last year it raised wages by 10% and looked to hire 10,000 new staff.
1:15.4	Now it's cutting expensive and fiddly items like salads and parfaits from its menu
1:20.4	as it struggles to hire kitchen staff and protect profits from rising prices.
1:24.7	And as inflation persists, signs offering dollar drinks are starting to disappear.
1:30.1	The emblem of American abundance is tightening its belt.
1:35.2	I'm John Prado and this is Checks and Balance from the Economist.
1:40.5	Each week we take one big theme shaping American politics and explore it in depth.
1:50.5	Today is America heading for recession and if so, can Joe Biden survive it?
2:10.0	Predictions of imminent downturn are everywhere.
	...

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