- Jared Bernstein, Joe Biden’s chief economist, struggled to explain how money works in a documentary or “Finding The Money,” despite his role.
- He stumbled over concepts, highlighting the confusion around printing and government money borrowing.
- Bernstein, who heads the American Council of Economic Advisers, has no formal training in economics and appears perplexed in the clip.
Jared Bernstein, Joe Biden’s chief economist and economic policy adviser, appeared in a clip in which he struggles to explain how money works.
Bernstein was being interviewed for an upcoming economics documentary called 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 the answers are elusive, even to Bernstein who, during a particularly awkward exchange, struggled to answer the question.
“The U.S. government can’t go bankrupt because we can print our own money,” Bernstein began, keeping his answer simple at first.
Jared Bernstein, Joe Biden’s chief economist, struggled to explain how money works in a documentary or “Finding The Money,” despite his role as Biden’s chief economist.
“They print the dollars, so why is the government borrowing? » then asks the interviewer.
“Well, some terms are confusing. The government definitely prints its own money. The government definitely prints money and lends that money. The government definitely prints money,” Bernstein said repeatedly, as He seemed to struggle with basic concepts.
“It then lends this money by selling bonds. Is this what they do?’, wondered Bernstein, who has no formal training in economics.
“They sell bonds, then people buy the bonds and lend money. Yeah, Bernstein continued as he seemed to become even more confused, while trying to reassure himself with his own answer.
Bernstein, left, was also chief economist and economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden during the Obama administration in 2009.
“Language and concepts can be unnecessarily confusing,” he surmised.
“I don’t understand. I don’t know what they’re talking about,” he finally admitted.
“The government is clearly printing money and they do it all the time. And the government is clearly borrowing. Otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation about the debt and the deficit.
“I don’t think there’s anything confusing there.”
Bernstein was confirmed as chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers last June.
The state of the economy is weighing on voters’ minds as the November presidential campaign heats up.
Despite the strong job market, Americans remain generally exasperated by high prices, with many placing blame on President Joe Biden.
Even with hiring slowing in April, job growth last month represented a solid increase, although it was the smallest monthly increase since October.
As households across the country continue to spend regularly, 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, this is the 27th consecutive month in which the rate has remained below 4 percent, tying the longest streak in this period. type since the 1960s.
Stubborn inflation has also meant interest rates remain high, making it even harder than usual for young potential buyers to get a foothold on the property ladder.
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