'What the hell were you thinking?': Fox News host confronts Obama official who called economic woes 'high class problems'



Fox News host Bill Hemmer confronted a former top Obama economics official Friday for claiming that skyrocketing inflation and supply chain disruptions are "high class problems."

What is the background?

Harvard economics professor Jason Furman, who served as chairman of former President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, downplayed current economic woes last week as problems only for American elite.

"Most of the economic problems we're facing (inflation, supply chains, etc.) are high class problems. We wouldn't have had them if the unemployment rate was still 10 percent. We would instead have had a much worse problem," Furman tweeted.

Most of the economic problems we're facing (inflation, supply chains, etc.) are high class problems. We wouldn't ha… https://t.co/N5QNseCFhm

— Jason Furman (@jasonfurman) 1634170666.0

Notably, White House chief of staff Ronald Klain was clobbered on social media after endorsing Furman's claim. By supporting Furman's claim, Klain was seemingly attempting to deflect responsibility from President Joe Biden for current economic struggles.

What did Hemmer say?

"Jason, you started a prairie fire yesterday," Hemmer said. "To paraphrase Jay Leno, what the hell were you thinking?"

Furman, however, defended his claim. He alleged rising inflation is a "good thing" because it means Americans are spending more money.

You need to keep two things in your head at once. One is, inflation is real. Inflation is creating a problem for families, and we should do something about it. Number two, the reason we have this inflation is actually a good reason: that the unemployment rate has come down, that families got money, and people are buying more things than ever before.

The problem isn't that our ports stopped working, it's that people are buying so much stuff, that so much is trying to come through our ports right now. We have record volumes, you know, that both has a good side, a bad side, you need to keep both those in your head.

Furman went on to admit the U.S. economy "has an inflation problem, and we need to deal with that," but softened the blow by claiming inflation is up because demand for goods is through the roof.

Hemmer, though, pushed back, grilling Furman over how significantly increased gas prices, for example, is a "high class problem."

"Middle-class America is paying for that," Hemmer said.

"Americans are traveling more than they were a year ago. That's a good thing. Americans are spending more; they're spending more in restaurants; they're spending more on sporting goods; they're spending more on nights out; they're spending more on travel," Furman responded. "That's all a really good thing. That's what's most important."

When asked whether he stands by his "high class problems" remark, Furman did not waiver.

"There's a good side to what's going on — people are spending more than they've ever spent before — and there's a bad side to what's going on," he said. "When everyone spends more than they've ever spent before, that drives prices up."

Former Obama economist grilled on controversial inflation tweet www.youtube.com

Biden's chief of staff gets torched for endorsing idea that America's struggles with supply chains, inflation are 'high class problems'



White House chief of staff Ronald Klain got clobbered on Twitter after endorsing the notion that America's economic struggles with supply chains and inflation are "high class problems."

What are the details?

Klain on Wednesday retweeted a post from Harvard economics professor Jason Furman saying that "most of the economic problems we're facing (inflation, supply chains, etc.) are high class problems. We wouldn't have had them if the unemployment rate was still 10 percent. We would instead have had a much worse problem."

In a separate tweet, Klain also appeared to endorse the post from Furman, who also is the Aetna Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Barack Obama.

This 👇👇 https://t.co/ymh53nEHAg

— Ronald Klain (@WHCOS) 1634178014.0

Furman saying "if the unemployment rate was still 10 percent" apparently is in reference to early 2021 comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell saying that January's unemployment was around that number, Fox News noted.

How did folks react?

Klain got walloped by other Twitter users for his apparent endorsement of Furman's "high class problems" tweet.

Among his critics was Tommy Pigott, rapid response director for the Republican National Committee, who told Klain, "Struggling to pay for food, fuel, and housing because of rising prices is not a 'high class problem.' Biden is making everyone worse off, but instead of stopping the damage, their strategy is to try to gaslight Americans."

Conservative commentator John Cardillo also weighed in: "Holy s**t! You're more cognitively impaired than Biden."

Others voiced similar sentiments:

  • "This goes to prove how out of touch @POTUS team is with the rest of America," another commenter wrote. "These issues are affecting middle class and poor, biting into our pay checks. America is beginning to see all those selected by @POTUS to run our Nation are leading to his and our downfall. Shame."
  • "Wow. Most ignorant take ever," another user said. "It's costing 50-75% more to feed my family in the past 6+mo. I don't know how other families in tighter financial situations are doing it. It's not just a 'little more for eggs' it's literally everything we buy, *if* we can find it."
  • "High class problems...Well damn. I'm glad you two are exposing your ignorance for the entire world to see," another commenter noted.
  • "Ron are u serious? This is your defense?" another user asked Klain. "You ever have to live off a loaf bread and a jar of peanut butter not because you are hiking the Appalachian Trail? I have at points in last decade depended upon my Speedway reward points to get me gas & a hot dog before payday…"

Anything else?

President Joe Biden reached an agreement this week with Los Angeles leaders and union workers to ease supply chain disruptions by keeping the ports of Los Angeles open 24/7. Cargo ships have been sitting off the coast of California for weeks, unable to offload goods due to worker shortages which has driven up retail prices and inflation.

Meanwhile the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday said Americans can expect their home heating bills to jump as much as 54% this winter compared to last year due to supply problems.