WH’s Bernstein: Inflation ‘Very Much Exacerbated by Putin’s War’ — ‘I’m Not Going to Get into Granular Prognostications’

In a Monday appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” White House Council of Economic Advisers member Jared Bernstein doubled down on blaming Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the record-high inflation.

Bernstein said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine “very much exacerbated” the cost of goods. He added that no one knew Putin would invade Ukraine nor that the coronavirus would have variants like Delta and Omicron.

“If you listen to the president’s three-point plan on fighting inflation, he put number one Fed independence for a reason,” Bernstein explained. “It is the primary inflation-fighting institution, both here and globally, and inflation, of course, very much exacerbated by Putin’s war, is, in fact, a global issue. So, we need a Fed that is independent, and I’m not going to get into granular prognostications.”

I think the most important lesson is when you’re living in an uncertain world, when people were making the predictions that they made, no one knew about Delta and Omicron, no one knew about Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. In a world with geopolitical, economic uncertainty, what you need is a White House that understands the depth of importance of insurance policies. Now, what do I mean by insurance? I mean a rescue plan that gets shots in arms and checks in pockets and makes sure it is large enough that it has resources that cities and localities can use when uncertain things that couldn’t have been seen pop up.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent