Jen Psaki: Chief of Staff Ron Klain Didn’t Mean to Say We Have ‘High-Class’ Economic Problems

At the White House yesterday, press secretary Jen Psaki said that when Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain endorsed the argument that inflation and supply chain problems are “high class problems,” what he really meant to say is that it is a relief that we don’t face high unemployment and a full-scale pandemic as well as our existing economic problems.

Yes, demand is up, but no one should be surprised that demand is up as the coronavirus pandemic, which kept tens of millions of Americans stuck at home and minimizing their interactions with others, is put behind us. And as the administration brags about the lower unemployment rate, remember that the labor force participation rate is 61.6 percent — almost two percentage points lower than the pre-pandemic February 2020 level of 63.3 percent. About 4.3 million American workers have disappeared from our economy.

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Jim Geraghty

Jim Geraghty is the senior political correspondent of National Review.

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At the White House yesterday, press secretary Jen Psaki said that when Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain endorsed the argument that inflation and supply chain problems are “high class problems,” what he really meant to say is that it is a relief that we don’t face high unemployment and a full-scale pandemic as well as our existing economic problems.

Yes, demand is up, but no one should be surprised that demand is up as the coronavirus pandemic, which kept tens of millions of Americans stuck at home and minimizing their interactions with others, is put behind us. And as the administration brags about the lower unemployment rate, remember that the labor force participation rate is 61.6 percent — almost two percentage points lower than the pre-pandemic February 2020 level of 63.3 percent. About 4.3 million American workers have disappeared from our economy.