Follows the transcript of the interview with Kevina Hassett, by the Director of the National Economic Council, It was broadcast “Face of the Nations with Margaret Brennan” 16. February 2025. Years.
Margaret Brennan: We want to now address economics and inflation, which typed about 3% since last January last week. Kevin Hassett is the director of the National Economic Council, and now he joins us. Good morning, to the director.
Kevin Hassett, Director, National Economic Council: Good morning, Margaret, good morning.
Margaret Brennan: So I don’t have to tell you, but the rest of the country saw their egg prices in the food shops. We are now in a record high due to this bird flu outbreak, but also the costs of work and it contributes to food costs as a whole. When will the administration get that outbreak under control?
HASSETT: That’s right, so, what’s going on, okay, as you know, is there an inflation problem that is very large. We saw that the consumer price index was coming out and learned that the stagflation that was created by President Bisena policies was worse than we thought. During the last three months, in the entire slave, including eggs, the average inflation rate was 4.6%, ie above the goal and acceleration at the end of biden term. And, you know, this really not just me. You could see Jason Furman, Larry Summers, President’s Economic Advisers of Biden kept saying, don’t do it. You will make a huge inflation. In fact, Jason Furman has a very thought that is currently causing peace in “external affairs”, inviting Biden economic record of tragedies. And these are, not us, aren’t we? That’s – because now we have a lot of things we do to get …
Margaret Brennan: You’re talking about fiscal spending there.
Hassett: Excuse me? Yes, that’s right.
Margaret Brennan: You talked about fiscal spending there. But–
Hassett: Well, where inflation comes from, right? And so now we do is, we have, really, a multi-bound plan to complete inflation, and I will quickly, because I want to end up with what we do with egg prices, but we will have a macroeconomic change with sides of the side food, so that We have more supplies, and we will reduce government spending, both doge work, and through the congress action. And so that the macroeconomic forces that Jason Furman said that the tragedy would be reversed. That’s a good thing. Then we will have a lot of energy production, a lot of deregulation. And then finally, we will focus on individual pieces of things if necessary. And so, for example, you mentioned the bird flu. President Biden didn’t really have a plan for saliva flu. Well, Brooke Rollins and I work with all the best people in government, including academics across the country and around the world, to have a plan ready for the president next week to what we will do with salivn flu. In fact, I arranged tomorrow with them, but- but the final thing – and then I will bring him back to you, I promise not to describe him – yes, the question is, why did we do it? Why did we do that? Everyone talks about. But the thing I always start when I watch what we do, what the president wants us to do, did they do it? Why did they do that? I- and there are too many times in which he feels like no one was thinking about this in the press or maybe–
Margaret Brennan: Oh, my God–
Hasset: – Left wing “economist”, why did they do it? Why did Biden tell so much money and caused so much inflation? Why did he do that?
Margaret Brennan: Oh, Kevin–
Hassett: That’s – what I think about.
Margaret Brennan: Kevin, you know, we talked about it to “face the nation” quite a lot. Enough a lot.
Hassett: I don’t want to criticize you. Okay, good for you.
Margaret Brennan: No, no, no. So, next week we will see the plan on how to get bird flu, below–
Hassett: I can talk about it now if you want, yes.
Margaret Brennan: – Well, of course, what – what’s the plan you go to – what are you going to do?
Hassett: Yes, so … so on, the Biden plan was just, you know, you kill the chicks, and they spent billions of dollars only randomly killing chickens in which they found sick chicken. And so you go – I just went to trade food products. I am selling my family, part, because I like to watch prices. And yesterday there was no eggs in the store, just a few. I- And that’s how it happened because they killed all the chickens. And so what we need to do is have better ways, with biological and medication and so on, to make sure that the perip is not to kill chickens. Have a better, smarter perimeter. And so it has a smart perimeter is what we work on, and we finish ideas about how to do it with the best scientists in the government. And that’s the kind of thing that should happen a year ago, and if it had it, then the prices of eggs would be, you know, much better than they are now. But bird flu is the right thing –
Margaret Brennan: Yes.
HASSET: – And by the way, ducks and geese is generally spreading. And so think about it, they kill chicks to stop spread, but the chickens don’t fly. – Spreading occurs from geese and ducks. And so, why makes sense to have a big perimeter of dead chicks, when are those ducks and geese that spreads it?
Margaret Brennan: Well, the Ministry of Agriculture was killing those chickens, as you know, but we will look at the details of it. But let’s go back to something that said the president. Higher interest rates, as you know, are part of these battles against inflation that the Federal Reserve leads, but in recent week, the president called on interest. Why do you think that will lower your food prices?
Kevin Hassett: Well, first of all, I want to say – I, just this weekend, I arranged, again, regular lunches with Jay’s Powell in the Federal Reserve. Both Jay and I have a long and collegial relationship, and I go there with him and other governors. So, we will talk about our views of what happens and listen to his and that collegity lasted for four years when I was here before, and the president is highly appreciated. I think that – thing about …
Margaret Brennan: But it’s not affect–
Hassett: – Choose interest rates, no, I will talk about – well, Jay goes Jay is an independent person. Fed- Independence is respected. And – and the point is, the opinion of the president can also be heard. He is the president of the United States. But here is the things interesting that it is interesting, that if we get inflation under control, then it takes out the pressure on the Fed. And one way to say whether markets think, do we get inflation under control, to look at the long-term interest rates that Fed does not affect directly. And if you look, the 10-year treasury rate fell about 40 basic points in the last few weeks as we announced our inflation control plan. It saved US people about $ 40 billion, about $ 40 billion, just from talking about the things we will do.
Margaret Brennan: All right.
Hassett: It’s pretty good.
Margaret Brennan: That’s right. But the President Statement opposes economic policy, as you know–
Kevin Hassett: No, inflation – no, inflation rates, but – I say that interest rates are already lower for 40 basic points. So, interest rates are lower. One that is important–
Margaret Brennan: You direct the president about it. Ok–
Hassett: – The most for the economy may be 5 or 10, years. Those that are most important. So that’s down. So the president is about it.
Margaret Brennan: Before we run out of time, I really want to make sure I get to you on the tariffs–
Hassett: Okay, of course.
Margaret Brennan: – Because there are concerns what will be added to the prices, because they will be added to consumers and what they pay. How will these reciprocal tariffs work? The president tweeted that he would like to put them, like 175 different countries that have tax on VAT, value added tax.
Kevin Hassett: You know, we talk to the leaders of other countries. Last night in the hours of all hours and the kind of late night for me, I talked to Reynolds Ministers from the UK in this regard. But here I would like to think about it, to spend the American company at the moment, the external governments of about $ 370 billion in tax, and foreign companies pay about $ 57 billion taxes, and a lot is due to VAT. But if we didn’t have to pay the tax on the government’s foreign government, for more than 10 years, that would be about 5 trillion tax on which American citizens do not have to pay. That would more pay for the tax reduction we are currently discussing. And so if we get some of that money, either through tariffs, or obviously, if they reduce the tariffs, that it is good for Americans, it will put more money in pockets, and that is what President Trump tries to do.
Margaret Brennan: Kevin Hassett, I’d like to go back, sit at the table and talk through this more detailed in the second time. We have to leave it there for today.
Hassett: Thank you. Happy, I’m happy to be here.
Margaret Brennan: Be careful. Much more “face a nation” for a moment.
2025-02-16 16:48:00
