Biden-Putin Price Hike -- USAGM
Metadata
- Biden-Putin Price Hike -- USAGM
- April 13, 2022
- For President Joe Biden, the pain Americans are feeling in their pocketbooks comes down to an increasingly repeated slogan: "Putin's price hike." For more than a month now, his administration has tried to blame rising prices on the Russian president's invasion of Ukraine. But the truth is a little more complicated, analysts say. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington.
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English Biden-Putin Price Hike HEADLINE: Biden Blames the 'Putin Price Hike' for Inflation TEASER: US president links rising prices to Russian invasion of Ukraine, announces efforts to bring down prices for US consumers PUBLISHED: 4/12/2022 at BYLINE: Anita Powell CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Washington VIDEOGRAPHER: AP VIDEO EDITOR: SCRIPT EDITORS: Holly Franko, Sharon Shahid VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, Reuters, ZOOM (WITH LICENSE) PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __ TRT: VID APPROVED BY: TYPE: EDITOR NOTES: )) ((INTRO:)) [[For President Joe Biden, the pain Americans are feeling in their pocketbooks comes down to an increasingly repeated slogan: "Putin's price hike." For more than a month now, his administration has tried to blame rising prices on the Russian president's invasion of Ukraine. But the truth is a little more complicated, analysts say. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington.]] ((Scenes of US consumers facing high prices: AP-4375390)) ((NARRATOR)) Since the war in Ukraine began nearly seven weeks ago, prices are rising — and not just for Americans. ((Shot of Brazil, Africa and India AP-cctv050843; Morocco, AP4373585)) The price of everything from gas to fertilizer to food is rising across the globe in countries as far from the conflict as Morocco, Brazil and India. ((Establish Biden from Tuesday Iowa visit, AP-4375457)) President Joe Biden has minted his own slogan to explain it: the "Putin price hike." ((SOT, MRT please clip)) ((President Joe Biden)) "I'm doing everything within my power, by executive order, to bring down prices and address the Putin price hike. In fact, we've already made progress since March inflation data was collected. Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away." ((Resume sequence from AP-4375457)) ((NARRATOR)) During a visit to Iowa Tuesday, he raised percentage of ethanol that can be blended into gasoline — a move that will tamp down gas prices but at a risk of creating more smog. ((Fertilizer price images: Rtrs-WD003106042022RP1; food prices: Rtrs-WD045608042022RP1)) Russia's invasion of Ukraine has seen a rise in global food commodity prices, with the United Nations food agency saying the war has driven rises in wheat, maize and vegetable oil. ((https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/fao-food-price-index-posts-significant-leap-in-march/en)) But economists also cite a broader, longer trend of rising commodity prices, policy support for inflation, the release of pent-up demand and disruptions to the supply chain. Conservative analysts say Putin is not the sole culprit — or even the biggest one. ((Radio: EJ Antoni is a research fellow at the Center for Data Analysis at the conservative Heritage Foundation)) ((SOT, English, ZOOM WITH VOA LICENSE, from 3:15 in track; 36 sec. Video here: https://app.frame.io/projects/ae30dd8f-b6c4-418a-b02d-530603115a58/f6f415a4-5b5a-4138-af3d-ceda358300f5)) (( EJ Antoni, Heritage Foundation))) "This happened long before Putin's invasion of Ukraine. So, the administration went from saying, 'There is no inflation' to then saying, 'Well, there's inflation, but it's transitory. So, don't worry about it.' And then inflation became a high-class problem. And then finally, inflation was good. Now, they have flipped the script yet again. Not only is inflation bad, but now it's not their fault. Now, it's Putin's fault. I estimate that about 8 percentage points of the 8.5 percentage point gain we've seen over the last year has nothing to do with the invasion of Ukraine. That is only a recent phenomenon. And it does not explain the run up in prices, particularly energy prices from before the invasion." ((Establish recent Putin, from AP-4375376)) ((NARRATOR)) Others say Putin deserves a bigger share of the blame. ((Radio: William Reinsch of the Center for Strategic and International Studies)) ((SOT, English, ZOOM with VOA license, from 4:50; 25 sec Video here: https://app.frame.io/projects/ae30dd8f-b6c4-418a-b02d-530603115a58/f6f415a4-5b5a-4138-af3d-ceda358300f5)) ((William Reinsch, Center for Strategic and International Studies)) "Had there been no war, I think you could argue that prices would have peaked and began to decline. With the war, yes, it is a Putin price hike. I think there's no question about it. As I said before, you know, he didn't start it. All this started way before the war. But he's made everything worse, and he deserves a good share of the blame for that." ((AP of Russian economic scenes, AP-4374923)) ((NARRATOR)) Russia's economy, too, has been hard-hit by the waves of sanctions imposed by the U.S. and NATO allies. The nation's central bank has propped up the ruble by dramatically raising interest rates and imposing other controls. ((Anita Powell, VOA News, Washington))
- Transcript/Script Biden-Putin Price Hike HEADLINE: Biden Blames the 'Putin Price Hike' for Inflation TEASER: US president links rising prices to Russian invasion of Ukraine, announces efforts to bring down prices for US consumers PUBLISHED: 4/12/2022 at BYLINE: Anita Powell CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Washington VIDEOGRAPHER: AP VIDEO EDITOR: SCRIPT EDITORS: Holly Franko, Sharon Shahid VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, Reuters, ZOOM (WITH LICENSE) PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __ TRT: VID APPROVED BY: TYPE: EDITOR NOTES: )) ((INTRO:)) [[For President Joe Biden, the pain Americans are feeling in their pocketbooks comes down to an increasingly repeated slogan: "Putin's price hike." For more than a month now, his administration has tried to blame rising prices on the Russian president's invasion of Ukraine. But the truth is a little more complicated, analysts say. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington.]] ((Scenes of US consumers facing high prices: AP-4375390)) ((NARRATOR)) Since the war in Ukraine began nearly seven weeks ago, prices are rising — and not just for Americans. ((Shot of Brazil, Africa and India AP-cctv050843; Morocco, AP4373585)) The price of everything from gas to fertilizer to food is rising across the globe in countries as far from the conflict as Morocco, Brazil and India. ((Establish Biden from Tuesday Iowa visit, AP-4375457)) President Joe Biden has minted his own slogan to explain it: the "Putin price hike." ((SOT, MRT please clip)) ((President Joe Biden)) "I'm doing everything within my power, by executive order, to bring down prices and address the Putin price hike. In fact, we've already made progress since March inflation data was collected. Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away." ((Resume sequence from AP-4375457)) ((NARRATOR)) During a visit to Iowa Tuesday, he raised percentage of ethanol that can be blended into gasoline — a move that will tamp down gas prices but at a risk of creating more smog. ((Fertilizer price images: Rtrs-WD003106042022RP1; food prices: Rtrs-WD045608042022RP1)) Russia's invasion of Ukraine has seen a rise in global food commodity prices, with the United Nations food agency saying the war has driven rises in wheat, maize and vegetable oil. ((https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/fao-food-price-index-posts-significant-leap-in-march/en)) But economists also cite a broader, longer trend of rising commodity prices, policy support for inflation, the release of pent-up demand and disruptions to the supply chain. Conservative analysts say Putin is not the sole culprit — or even the biggest one. ((Radio: EJ Antoni is a research fellow at the Center for Data Analysis at the conservative Heritage Foundation)) ((SOT, English, ZOOM WITH VOA LICENSE, from 3:15 in track; 36 sec. Video here: https://app.frame.io/projects/ae30dd8f-b6c4-418a-b02d-530603115a58/f6f415a4-5b5a-4138-af3d-ceda358300f5)) (( EJ Antoni, Heritage Foundation))) "This happened long before Putin's invasion of Ukraine. So, the administration went from saying, 'There is no inflation' to then saying, 'Well, there's inflation, but it's transitory. So, don't worry about it.' And then inflation became a high-class problem. And then finally, inflation was good. Now, they have flipped the script yet again. Not only is inflation bad, but now it's not their fault. Now, it's Putin's fault. I estimate that about 8 percentage points of the 8.5 percentage point gain we've seen over the last year has nothing to do with the invasion of Ukraine. That is only a recent phenomenon. And it does not explain the run up in prices, particularly energy prices from before the invasion." ((Establish recent Putin, from AP-4375376)) ((NARRATOR)) Others say Putin deserves a bigger share of the blame. ((Radio: William Reinsch of the Center for Strategic and International Studies)) ((SOT, English, ZOOM with VOA license, from 4:50; 25 sec Video here: https://app.frame.io/projects/ae30dd8f-b6c4-418a-b02d-530603115a58/f6f415a4-5b5a-4138-af3d-ceda358300f5)) ((William Reinsch, Center for Strategic and International Studies)) "Had there been no war, I think you could argue that prices would have peaked and began to decline. With the war, yes, it is a Putin price hike. I think there's no question about it. As I said before, you know, he didn't start it. All this started way before the war. But he's made everything worse, and he deserves a good share of the blame for that." ((AP of Russian economic scenes, AP-4374923)) ((NARRATOR)) Russia's economy, too, has been hard-hit by the waves of sanctions imposed by the U.S. and NATO allies. The nation's central bank has propped up the ruble by dramatically raising interest rates and imposing other controls. ((Anita Powell, VOA News, Washington))
- NewsML Media Topics Conflict, War and Peace, Economy, Business and Finance
- Topic Tags Prices
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date April 12, 2022 22:11 EDT
- Description English For President Joe Biden, the pain Americans are feeling in their pocketbooks comes down to an increasingly repeated slogan: "Putin's price hike." For more than a month now, his administration has tried to blame rising prices on the Russian president's invasion of Ukraine. But the truth is a little more complicated, analysts say. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington.
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English