Jared Bernstein quote about the economy

Jared Bernstein, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, sat down with Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday to discuss the current economy.

“We’re just coming out of a Black Friday that is already setting records for online buying between $10 and $16 Billion for Black Friday online. We’ve been looking at consumer spending that's been driving this economy forward, posting growth rates that are north of 5%. We have an unemployment rate that's been below 4% for 21 months. Now what that means in a period where inflation has come down by 2/3, it peaked at 9% it’s now 3.2%. Real wages have grown, wages are beating prices now, so is disposable income.”–Jared Bernstein, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers

“Are real wages rising? Yes. Is the job market tight as it’s ever been? Yes. Is inflation down 2/3 from its peak? Absolutely. Are prices coming down for gas, for airline tickets, for car rentals, for eggs, for groceries at the lowest inflation in two years? All of that is a yes. We are moving in the right direction.”

“We’ve capped insulin prices at $35 month. What about giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices? What about tax incentives for manufacturing jobs? What about capping out of pocket prescription drug costs? All of those are in play. They are legislated. Those issues poll at 80+%.”