The Nation publisher demands action from Biden on inflation, gas prices, 'not spin'
'Perception is often reality,' she said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Katrina vanden Heuvel, publisher for the progressive news site "The Nation," demanded in a column for the Washington Post that the Biden administration take action on inflation, instead of "spinning what's going right."
"If millions are saying that they are hurting financially, the administration should take that as secular gospel — and focus on fixing what’s going wrong rather than spinning what’s going right," Heuvel wrote.
A cashier assists a customer at a checkout counter at Harmons Grocery store in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Oct. 21, 2021. (George Frey/Bloomberg)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Washington Post columnist said Biden, in addition to blaming Putin, was also pitching Americans on the idea that "the economy is stronger than they think."
She noted Biden's economic accomplishments, such as lower unemployment levels and increased wages, but said "when it comes to political outcomes, perception is often reality."
The columnist applauded Biden's decision to release 180 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but also suggested reviving the idea of providing Americans with gas cards.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Columnist applauded President Biden's decision to release 180 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (Getty Images)
She echoed sentiments from James K. Galbraith, who wrote in a piece for The Nation that Biden's claims that inflation was the Federal Reserve's job were not true.
"Galbraith calls Medicare-for-all ‘potentially the most powerful anti-inflationary tool the government has,'" Heuvel wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"In a time of such economic uncertainty, political finger-pointing will get Democrats only so far," the Washington Post columnist said. "Swift action, not spin, is what’s needed as November’s midterms approach."
A customer shops for meat at a supermarket on June 10, 2021, in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Biden has put most of the blame on Putin when it comes to high gas prices and increased inflation. The White House and other Democrats started using the term "Putin Price Hike" to describe the economic situation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in March that inflation "starts with Putin" and asserted that government spending was not the cause of inflation.
Inflation hit a 40-year-high in February and jumped 7.9%.