Stephanie Ruhle is the host of The 11th Hour and MSNBC’s chief business correspondent and it is in that later role that she appeared on Thursday’s Jose Diaz-Balart Reports to discuss the state of the economy. For Ruhle, the story of inflation is not massive amounts of Biden spending, but that Biden is stuck in the middle of world events and that Republicans have no solution beyond criticizing him.
The GDP numbers were not the only economic news worth discussing, guest host Lindsey Reiser asked about interest rates, “Steph, what do you say to the people who say, okay, yes, things are getting more expensive and this is the intent here, right? To slow things down and to calm inflation, but I need to buy a house or I need to pay down my credit card debt and I'm mad about what I'm seeing?”
Ruhle declared the rate hikes are necessary to combat inflation and high gas princes, which are things Biden has nothing to do with:
Let's talk about what is actually causing the inflation. It's the fact that we still have supply chain issues because of lockdowns in China. It's because of the war in Ukraine that's caused a huge increase in gas prices, in food prices, in lumber prices. So, us raising interest rates isn't going to change those issues out there, these global issues that are causing inflation, so that could be a very problematic situation that we raise rates, but raising rates isn't going to lower gas prices.
Later, Reiser started to move on to correspondent Jake Ward, but before she could do that, Ruhle interjected to condemn Republicans, “I would just point out that while Republicans are able to seize on this opportunity where people are struggling because of inflation and hammer the Biden Administration, Republicans have not offered any alternate solution, right?”
If the Democrats name their new bill the “Inflation Reduction Act,” it must reduce inflation, ‘We know the Biden Administration is working on getting prescription drug prices to be lower. Access to broadband, cheaper broadband. A number of things. Obviously what they're trying to do with CHIPS. And Republicans have offered absolutely no other plan besides “this stinks, vote for us in November.’ Voters might say, ‘okay, we'll vote for you in November and how are you going to solve it.’”
A logical person would say that if you criticize someone for spending too much money, your policy suggestion would be to start by getting spending under control, but that hasn’t stopped Ruhle from using this line multiple times before.
This segment was sponsored by 4imprent.
Here is a transcript for the July 28 show:
MSNBC Jose Diaz-Balart Reports
7/28/2022
10:09 AM ET
LINDSEY REISER: Steph, what do you say to the people who say, okay, yes, things are getting more expensive and this is the intent here, right? To slow things down and to calm inflation, but I need to buy a house or I need to pay down my credit card debt and I'm mad about what I'm seeing?
STEPHANIE RUHLE: I get it. But what the Fed is trying to do is say, we’ve got to take this short-term pain for a long-term solution. The bigger question, is this going to give you a long-term solution? Because let's talk about what is actually causing the inflation. It's the fact that we still have supply chain issues because of lockdowns in China.
It's because of the war in Ukraine that's caused a huge increase in gas prices, in food prices, in lumber prices. So, us raising interest rates isn't going to change those issues out there, these global issues that are causing inflation, so that could be a very problematic situation that we raise rates, but raising rates isn't going to lower gas prices.
REISER: Austan, we're going to hear from the president and other administration officials later today about where they think things stand, where they're going with this. What do they need to tell people who believe this economy isn't working for them?
AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: I mean, it's hard when you're in a circumstance like this where the inflation rate is high. In a way, it doesn't matter what you say. There's going to be a big argument about what's the definition of recession, but it's going to be back in the spirit of the, if you're explaining, you're losing. If you're fighting about whether it was or was not a recession in the first quarter of this year and looking backward, it's not going to be a comfortable place for the administration.
And it’s that divergence between message and what people are feeling and that it might not be exactly what's in the data, that's a common thing to happen to administrations, especially going into the midterm and that's what kind of puts the pressure even higher on them.
REISER: Jake, you're out there talking to people. I was out at a – Stephanie, you’re trying to say something?
RUHLE: I would just point out that while Republicans are able to seize on this opportunity where people are struggling because of inflation and hammer the Biden Administration, Republicans have not offered any alternate solution, right? We know the Biden Administration is working on getting prescription drug prices to be lower. Access to broadband, cheaper broadband. A number of things. Obviously what they're trying to do with CHIPS. And Republicans have offered absolutely no other plan besides “this stinks, vote for us in November.” Voters might say, “okay, we'll vote for you in November and how are you going to solve it.”
