Inflation fell just .6 percent in July and CBS Morning was treating the news like it marked the end of the Great Depression. With gas prices still way above where they were last year and people still paying through the nose for basic necessities, on Wednesday, CBS business analyst Jill Schlesinger joyously proclaimed that inflation had “peaked” and spewed the Big Lie that America was not experiencing a textbook recession.
Early in the show, fill-in host Nancy Cordes announced “the once-soaring gas prices that are falling fast” with “the average nationwide cost for a gallon of regular is about $1 cheaper than it was just in mid-June.” She also asserted that “it's a sign that overall inflation may have peaked.”
Correspondent Erroll Barnett was standing outside a gas station in Alexandria, Virginia, and remarked “that this is typically a place of stress and anxiety for most Americans, right? But these days the vibe is much more calm[.]” But he did admit it was “relative” since “a regular gallon of gas is $1 more expensive than a year ago but $1 less expensive than two months ago.”
At no point did they mention that it was President Biden’s energy policy that had caused gas prices to rise since he took office.
But during their “Money Watch” segment, Cordes and Schlesinger teamed up to treat the .6 percent drop in inflation as liberation from financial hardship:
CORDES: The Consumer Price Index shows prices rose 8.5 percent in July compared to a year ago. This follows June's inflation rate of 9.1 percent which was the highest in more than 40 years. (…) Jill, good morning. 8.5 percent. That's a significant reduction.
SCHLESINGER: Yeah. It may be that inflation peaked in the month of June because these July numbers are somewhat better than expected. Not fantastic news yet, but we were thinking 8.7 percent on an annualized basis, 8.5 is good.
Ignoring the newest round of runaway spending from Biden and Democrats, Schlesinger suggested that if things held steady “we could believe that over the next few months we have seen the peak [on inflation], the end of the year we should come down toward seven, maybe six percent.”
“But just remember, gang, before we started this inflationary period, the inflation rate in the United States was just under two percent. So these are big changes,” she inexplicably boasted without an explanation as to what or who was to blame for the inflation to begin with.
Anchor Tony Dokoupil followed up with the important question: “What does it mean for a potential recession?” Schlesinger responded by spewing the Big Lie and pretending we currently weren’t in one and one wasn’t even on its way:
Well, I mean, look, when we have high periods of inflation, and the federal reserve is actively fighting that inflation by raising interest rates, those are the conditions that usually will lead to this broad slowdown called a recession. It doesn't appear we're in a recession right this moment. I mean, frankly, we had half a million jobs created in the last month. And an economy that can create a half a million jobs is not usually one that is classically in a recession.
“So I think that maybe for another month we're going to sort of put that recession talk off to the table,” she instructed them to stop.
Schlesinger would go on to clownishly claim people were saving their money during the pandemic. She conveniently forgot about the reports CBS did showing unprecedented lines of people at food pantries struggling to get by. The network made a point of noting that many were relying on the services for the first time.
This ridiculous boasting about a struggling economy where made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Comcast and Toyota. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CBS Mornings
August 10, 2022
7:11:06 a.m. EasternNANCY CORDES: Now the latest on the once-soaring gas prices that are falling fast. This morning, the average nationwide cost for a gallon of regular is about $1 cheaper than it was just in mid-June when gas prices peaked. It's a sign that overall inflation may have peaked, as well. Erroll Barnett is at a gas station in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside Washington. Erroll, good morning. What are you hearing from drivers there?
ERROLL BARNETT: Hey there, Nancy, good morning. Great to see you and everyone. Well, I can tell you that this is typically a place of stress and anxiety for most Americans, right? But these days the vibe is much more calm, but it also is relative. A regular gallon of gas is $1 more expensive than a year ago but $1 less expensive than two months ago which has some folks wondering if it's time for one last summer road trip.
(…)
8:34:23 a.m.
CORDES: Well, moving on, in this morning's "Money Watch," the newest inflation numbers have just come out. They're starting to show the impact of falling gas prices. The Consumer Price Index shows prices rose 8.5 percent in July compared to a year ago. This follows June's inflation rate of 9.1 percent which was the highest in more than 40 years.
The national average of a price for a gallon of gas has fallen nearly 70 cents just over the past month. CBS news business analyst Jill Schlesinger is here to help us break this down. Jill, good morning. 8.5 percent. That's a significant reduction.
JILL SCHLESINGER: Yeah. It may be that inflation peaked in the month of June because these July numbers are somewhat better than expected. Not fantastic news yet, but we were thinking 8.7 percent on an annualized basis, 8.5 is good.
The other part of this report, as you mentioned, gas and energy prices, that pushes the numbers down pretty dramatically.
(…)
8:35:52 a.m. Eastern
CORDES: So how will we know that prices have peaked? I mean, what's the guarantee that they won't just go back up next month?
SCHLESINGER: Well, I think that's a great question because the war in Ukraine is the real unknown. That was what pushed oil prices above $120 a barrel. Now we're back at $90. Food prices also increased because so much of the bread basket of Europe is derived from Ukraine.
I think that if the war does not create another real shortage, that we could believe that over the next few months we have seen the peak, the end of the year we should come down toward seven, maybe six percent. But just remember, gang, before we started this inflationary period, the inflation rate in the United States was just under two percent. So these are big changes.
TONY DOKOUPIL: What does it mean for a potential recession?
SCHLESINGER: Well, I mean, look, when we have high periods of inflation, and the federal reserve is actively fighting that inflation by raising interest rates, those are the conditions that usually will lead to this broad slowdown called a recession. It doesn't appear we're in a recession right this moment. I mean, frankly, we had half a million jobs created in the last month. And an economy that can create a half a million jobs is not usually one that is classically in a recession.
So I think that maybe for another month we're going to sort of put that recession talk off to the table.
(…)
