Since President Joe Biden has taken office, Americans are struggling to pay bills and live paycheck to paycheck as prices for daily essentials continue to rise.
However, according to the White House, it is not Biden's fault for a failing economy, but rather companies for pricing their goods too high.
On Friday, White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard blamed Americans' current financial struggle on companies raising their prices, claiming they are confident with their wages.
NPR Co-host Ari Shapiro pointed out that Americans are unhappy with Biden's economy, saying inflation keeps worsening.
"That has been the case for almost every month of Biden's time in office. How do you account for this disconnect?" Shapiro noted.
"Well, while the jobs picture is very bright, we know that many Americans are worried that some things are not affordable. And that's why the president is focused on fighting to bring down costs for hard-working Americans. For instance, the president believes it just isn't right that prescription drugs are practically unaffordable for many Americans, and that's why he's fighting to lower healthcare costs. He got great legislation to cap insulin costs for seniors at $35 a month. That's down from $400 for many. You know, we also are capping out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors at $2,000 per year. And Medicare has the authority now to negotiate prices, starting with ten drugs next year," Brainard said.
However, Shapiro argued that using insulin as an example does not take into account the majority of Americans.
"We saw a really big jump up in consumer sentiment in the Michigan survey. And I think consumers are very focused on the costs that matter most to them. Health care is a huge affordability issue for so many Americans. But consumers are also tired of being hit by hidden fees. That's why we're cracking down on junk fees in everything from airline ticketing to credit cards to overdraft fees. And it's also really important, now that we have fixed supply chains and input costs are coming down, corporations need to be passing those savings on to consumers. And we think that will go a long way to continuing that increase in consumer sentiment that we saw today," Brainard continued.
According to a recent CNN poll, 4 in 10 Americans say the economy or the cost of living is the country's most important issue. The poll also noted that even fewer Americans agree with the Democratic Party than with the GOP on how to handle the economy, crime, and the country's role in immigration.
Seventy-one percent of Americans rate economic conditions in the country as poor, with 38 percent calling them very poor.
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