Chair Powell’s answer debunks the White House’s so-called “Putin Price Hike”
WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today secured an answer from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that debunks the misinformation messaging coming from President Joe Biden and his Administration that Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is the cause of historic inflation—the so-called “Putin Price Hike.”
Hagerty acknowledged to Powell that a number of factors have led to this historic inflation, including supply chain disruptions, overregulation, rising inflation expectations, and excessive fiscal spending, but no one can dispute the rate with which inflation has risen.
“In January of 2021, inflation was at 1.4 percent. By December of 2021, it had risen to 7 percent—a fivefold increase. Now, since the war in Ukraine began in late February, the rate of inflation has risen incrementally another 1.6 percent to a current level of 8.6 percent…Given how inflation has escalated over the past 18 months, would you say that the war in Ukraine is the primary driver of inflation in America?” Hagerty asked.
Powell responded, “No, inflation was high before, certainly before the war in Ukraine broke out.”
Hagerty praised Powell for acknowledging the truth and helping expose this misinformation coming from the Biden Administration.
“I’m glad to hear you say that. The Biden Administration seems to be intent on deflecting blame and, as recently as just this past Sunday, spread the misinformation that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is the ‘biggest single driver of inflation.’ I’m glad you agree with me that that is not the truth,” Hagerty said.
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