Groundwork Responds to Sen. Manchin’s Letter to Fed

Yesterday, Sen. Joe Manchin urged the Federal Reserve to reassess America’s stance on monetary policy and additional fiscal stimulus to avoid ‘overheating our economy.’ But the evidence is clear that the costs of an unequal recovery are far greater than those of manageable inflation. 

As Dr. Rakeen Mabud, Groundwork’s Chief Economist and Managing Director of Policy and Research told The Hill: 

“We cannot let misguided [inflation] fears keep us from investing in the workers and families who make up our economy, because the cost of inaction right now, especially for the most marginalized communities, far outweighs the costs of manageable inflation.” 

Learn more below and email press@groundworkcollaborative.org to speak to Dr. Mabud about inflation, jobs, and the economy. 

• Economists overwhelmingly agree that the inflation we are seeing right now is both temporary and manageable. At a time when we are still down 5.7 million jobs since the start of the pandemic and Black unemployment hovers at crisis levels, we cannot afford to hit the brakes on public spending, which will only stunt our recovery and lock in an unequal recovery. 
• The higher inflation we are experiencing right now is the result of returning consumer demand and supply-chain bottlenecks, especially in sectors that were particularly hard hit at the beginning of the pandemic, and largely limited to a small number of sectors. Rising prices that indicate returning demand for travel and other goods and services are a sign of economic recovery. 
• Despite strong job growth in July, more investment is necessary to achieve full employment, create quality jobs, and restore our long-term economic potential, especially for Black and brown communities who have historically been left out of periods of economic recovery. 

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About Groundwork Collaborative

The Groundwork Collaborative’s mission is to advance an economic vision for strong, broadly shared prosperity and true opportunity for all. Learn more at https://groundworkcollaborative.org/ and follow us on Twitter @groundwork.