Awkward moment Biden’s economic adviser Jared Bernstein admits he can’t explain how money works
- Despite his role, Jared Bernstein, Joe Biden’s chief economist, had difficulty explaining how money works in a documentary or ‘Finding The Money’.
- He stumbled over concepts and highlighted the confusion surrounding the printing and borrowing of government money
- Bernstein, head of the American Council of Economic Advisers, is not formally trained in economics and appeared bewildered in the clip
Jared Bernstein, chief economist and economic policy adviser to Joe Biden, is seen in a clip struggling to explain how money works.
Bernstein was interviewed for an upcoming documentary on economics, titled Finding the money.
“We all use money, and yet the questions of what money is and where money comes from remain elusive,” the film teases in a preview.
But it seems that even Bernstein, who has no formal background in economics, found the question difficult to answer.
“The U.S. government can’t go bankrupt because we can print our own money,” Bernstein began, initially keeping his answer simple.
Joe Biden’s Chief Economist Jared Bernstein Had Difficulty Explaining How Money Works in a Documentary or ‘Finding The Money’ Despite His Role as Biden’s Chief Economist
“They’re printing the dollars, so why is the government borrowing at all?” the interviewer then asks.
“Well, some of the language is just confusing. The government definitely prints its own money. The government certainly prints money and lends that money. The government sure is printing money,” Bernstein said repeatedly, seemingly struggling with the basic concepts.
‘It then lends that money out by selling bonds. Is that what they do?’ he wondered.
‘They sell bonds and then people through the bonds and lend the money. Yes,” Bernstein continued, appearing even more confused.
Bernstein, left, was also Vice President Joe Biden’s chief economist and economic adviser during the Obama administration in 2009
“Language and concepts can be unnecessarily confusing,” he surmised.
‘I do not get it. I don’t know what they’re talking about,” he finally admitted.
‘It is clear that the government is printing money, and it does so all the time. And the government is clearly borrowing. Otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation about debt and deficits.
‘I don’t think there’s anything confusing.
Bernstein was confirmed as chairman of the American Council of Economic Advisers last June.
The state of the economy is weighing on voters’ minds as the November presidential campaign intensifies.
Despite the strength of the labor market, Americans generally remain irritated by high prices, with many of them blaming President Joe Biden.
Even with the slowdown in hiring in April, job growth last month was a solid increase, even though it was the lowest monthly gain since October.
As the country’s households continue their steady spending, many employers have had to continue hiring to meet customer demand.
Although the unemployment rate rose from 3.8 percent to 3.9 percent in April, it was the 27th consecutive month in which the unemployment rate remained below 4 percent, the longest streak since the 1960s.
Stubborn inflation has also kept interest rates high, making it even harder than usual for potential young home buyers to get a foothold on the property ladder.