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we talk about president biden's economic policy with jonathan fro -- jonathan bydlak. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: there's no doubt that inflation at its highest point in 40 years is taking its toll on american purchasing power. it is happening in the midst of the biggest wage growth in years, strong retail sales. still a job market. which is it? is the economy tainting or storing. it is friday, february 18th. welcome to "washington journal." we spend the first half-hour asking you if you are optimistic or pessimistic about the economy. we mostly want to hear from you, if you are optimistic about the economy the line is (202)

748-8000, pessimistic, (202) 748-8001, if you are unsure, (202) 748-8002. you could tell us how you feel in text at (202) 748-8003. tell us your name and where you are texting from. we are on facebook. we will look for your post on twitter and instagram @csp anwj. economy top of everybody's mind. three different stories on the front page of the wall street journal. the dow falls 600 points, the worst day of 2022. mortgage rates are high. the reported this about american spending. americans and experiences. more people in the u.s. are satisfying wanderlust and spending big to do it.

with daily covid-19 cases following, the strongest consumer finances and consumer history. they are eager to splurge on everything from travel to sports events. executive said. that is from the wall street journal. here's an opinion piece this morning from a biden administration official, stephen wagnon. we are asking you if you are optimistic or pessimistic about the economy. biden keeps blaming the supply chain for inflation that is dishonest. in an interview with lester holt from nbc, president biden stayed closely to his talking points. the reason for the inflation is the supply chains were cut off, he insisted.

that is simplistic and misleading. he says for starters, supply chain's have not been cut off, just stretched. supply issues are by no means the root cause of our inflation. that is like complaining about your sweater keeping you too warm. the bulk of the supply problems is over stimulating the economy. not because of it. shortages in factories with transportation workers, most of our supply problems have been homegrown. along the way americans have been creating shortages. akin to those in a shopping mall on black friday. optimistic about the economy or pessimistic? (202) 748-8000 is the line if you are optimistic. (202) 748-8001 if you are pessimistic. if you are unsure, (202) 748-8002.

president biden talk about the economy yesterday. he was in ohio talk about the infrastructure law passed late last year by congress. here is some of what president biden had to say. president biden: we let the world by significant margin because we invested in ourselves. we invested in our infrastructure. the arteries of the nation that allowed us to function smoothly. we invested in our people and our opportunity. we were one of the first nations to provide universal high school. the space race facilitates in facilities like lewis research center in cleveland. we let the world in research development. somewhere along the way, we took our eye off the ball.

our infrastructure used to be rated number one in the world. according to the economic forum, we ranked number 13 in the world. china is catching up and passing us. we are reinvesting in our economy and in our people. creating millions of jobs from -- and building a better america. that's what we are going to do. host: are you optimistic or pessimistic? a tweet here says pessimistic. biden tells people there's no inflation. months later he says inflation is here but will leave soon. the supply chain, not our policies are causing inflation. this is from a text that just came in. that is (202) 748-8003. if you are optimistic about the economy, (202) 748-8000. pessimistic, (202) 748-8001. for those of you are unsure,

(202) 748-8002. this is from the think advisor website and their poll, americans divided into views on the economy. americans are about equally divided in their views on the state of the economy. 45% said they are optimistic. 42% are pessimistic. respondent's top concerns were inflation, 83 percent. supply chain disruption, 77%. interest rates, 71%. the more worried respondent said they are, the bigger effect those concerns have on initial decision. 41% said they considered the rate of inflation when making decisions in the last nine month. let's hear from ann on the pessimistic line in manchester, kentucky. caller: good morning.

i feel with the job loss, you cannot find items. they are too expensive. our borders are still wide open with people pouring over, drug abuse. our own people have been hurting. we are allowing people to come into our country. what are we going to get but that results? host: washington, new jersey, on the unsure line. this is ted. caller: i tend to be optimistic but at this point i'm a little bit unsure because of things i see that the government could do. the government shouldn't be involved in the economy but it is. i did not agree with turning off the pipeline. we were energy independent.

we were buying overseas from the middle east and russia, i think the government does not realize that. the other problem is new jersey is the number one state people are moving out of. i see people moving in also, there's a lot of demand. because of the taxes and the spending of the government, people have nothing to do with a lot of the money being spent. they are just overtaxed. the biggest problem in my pessimism is not of the people are being allowed to access it. when the loans were given out during the pandemic in the beginning, they were only giving

them to 20% of the people who really need them. the large corporations, they got the money. the small businesses that just needed a boost, there's no access, no help for them. in new jersey, many businesses went out. there was no business, they lost it. host: you mentioned that, you said is new jersey is the number one state people are moving out of. how many people per month? at the minute i do not. caller: at the same time we had many people from new york and many areas moved here. they move from new york because of the out-of-control crime and the elected officials in new york state such as cuomo and the

new woman. the new mayor of new york is trying just goes on with the administration. the number one thing is public safety. they just don't feel safe in new york. host: we will go to the optimistic line no. in alabama, that is beds. -- vince. caller: i'm optimistic that the current person in office will sound like his old boss. we already could spend $1 trillion on infrastructure. it is all a scam. you can't trust anything coming out of this government. they are always lying. i'm optimistic things will stay the same. a bunch of criminals enriching themselves.

host: the council of economic advisors testified yesterday on capitol hill recording on their deliberations on inflation. white house economists split on inflation cause. the senior administration official inside the white house in recent weeks included the passage tying inflation to monopoly power. members of the white house council of economic advisors raised objection to the idea was it was due to corporate power. they spoke on the condition of anonymity because of peers -- fears of professional reprisals. it highlights the tensions within the administration and whether the white house should bring -- blame consolidation and monopoly for price hikes. the administration could be more

aggressively advanced. democratic pollsters with the economic message on corporate greed that resonates with voters. the council of economic advisors about the impact of inflation on the job market. >> isn't it true that post low in middle income workers have experienced a bigger rise in the cost of the things they need to buy than in income? >> i appreciate the concern very much. i would like to point out --

>> i'm sorry, we all know the number of governors is adequate to do what they need to do. let's not go there. can you confirm the simple fact that for most workers wages are not rising as fast? >> some recent estimates suggest that if we look at the bottom 60% of workers and market income before taxes and benefits, it is greater now than it was 2019. with benefits, they are actually ahead. >> we saw the 7.5% is the most recent rate of inflation. we know low and middle income people have more experience than

that. they pay a disproportionate amount of income things more rapidly rising for things like gasoline, groceries. the average worker in america is more than keeping up with inflation? >> what we know -- inflation, we do not want to see this level of inflation going forward. that is why the president is focused on doing what he can with the federal reserve likely to adjust. we know household balances because of the efforts of the government, the federal reserve have been maintained through this pandemic. host: we covered that hearing yesterday. this is front page also online for the washington times this morning. rising gas prices put biden and democrats in a bind. they write that record high inflation, geopolitical tension

and prices of gas reaching seven dollars per gallon have democrats in washington scrambling. one response from a small group of senate democrats that suspended the gas tax act 18.4, cents per gallon, they have been taking a more public stance in acknowledging the need to combat inflation which has reached a 40 year high in an election year. it has become a lightning rod on capitol hill. republicans accused democrats of trying to provide cover. that would leave a roughly $20 billion hole in the highway trust fund. some comments on social media. today's topic is optimistic or pessimistic about the economy for working-class americans. how much are you paying for gasoline since joe entered the

white house? another says i'm optimistic. optimistic that trump is going to jail. jersey girl says pessimistic. the republicans take over in 2023 and they have a habit of destroying the economy. the economy is the most rigged it has ever been. we do not steady chance -- do not stand a chance at equality. shelby is optimistic in georgia. caller: good morning, thank you very much. the history programming, i'm very optimistic. i have a property in new jersey. i am in georgia with an elder.

my retired husband and i have been here with a 90-year-old since march of 2020. this is a 100 year pandemic, trying to make the actual point. we are part of a blessed sacrifice with people work hard, those people who are in that range are optimistic. they have the capacity for society. we have others, young people at the colleges where we teach, people who come to help us make our lives better. workers who come to take care of a 90-year-old who only make 8-15

dollars. contracts that the government pays. host: has that wage got up any since 2020? caller: we are locked in right now. that is for the build back better plan. that is about human infrastructure. you talk a lot about roads, bridges, energy, we are humans. we are people with needs. the people who are helping us are the ones not making income. host: kind of lost you there, shelby. we appreciate your input. next up, this is bob on the pessimistic line. caller: i want to talk about the reason i am pessimistic. i don't believe there is enough discussion about the lack of workforce in america.

we have 71 million baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964. the modern birth rate being 1.7 children per couple, a couple is even replacing themselves in the workforce. since we have had this covid pandemic, it has exacerbated people out of the workforce. my opinion is basically being driven by the lack of workforce area a publicly traded company is only able to make 80% of their product due to the lack of workforce and transportation. they are publicly traded. short -- shareholders are projecting profit margins. ceos have no choice but to raise the prices on their products to achieve their goals.

the workforce when it comes to inflation, being dependent on china's product, bringing millions of people into this country and watching the economy flourish. host: dennis calling from north carolina. caller: since the president shut down most of the old stuff here in the state. oil is the heartbeat of this country. we wouldn't be able to have anything up we didn't have oil. are you still there? host: we are listening. caller: even those electric cars, oil is used to make some of the stuff for some of those

electric cars. you have to have oil. that will help the economy and because the inflation. i appreciate your time. host: the survey we are doing on optimism or pessimism in the economy. americans have grown a bit more pessimistic. the child care tax credits, and the stock market pullback. the economic optimism index monthly read on consumer confidence puts seven straight months below the neutral 50 level. they say the silver lining is the six-month economic outlook index is higher.

that is from investors. asking you this morning, are you optimistic or pessimistic about the economy? for optimists, (202) 748-8000. if you are pessimistic about the economy, that is (202) 748-8001. for those of you unsure, (202) 748-8002. marvin is pessimistic as well. cleveland, ohio, next up. caller: good morning. i'm not feeling very good about our economy. like the gentleman said before. oil is used for everything. i believe we should work on the gold standard a little bit. start getting people to work here. there is no reason with this covid and everything going on

that people can't be making money. that is how i feel about it. host: frederick, maryland is next. glenn is on the optimistic line. caller: i am optimistic about some of the things happening. rising jobs, however, in frederick there are no jobs. they have retail, warehouse, i am not too optimistic about the economy. host: your volume -- mute your volume and no ahead. we will let you go there. the vice president, live look here in munich. she is at the security conference meeting with north atlantic treaty organization head jan stoltenberg.

this is happening with other world leaders. we will look in and listen in. >> i am here to ensure that through our discussion in the discussions we have had that we continue as these days progress. we understand this is a dynamic moment in time. to check in -- it is critically important. thank you, again for all that you do and all that you have done. for the support of diplomacy as it relates to be discussions we have had with russia.

there will be severe consequences in terms of the economic sanctions we have discussed. host: we are looking and live in munich, vice president kamala harris meeting with nato secretary-general jan stoltenberg. we will bring all vetted and show that to you later in our program schedule on the c-span networks. on the crisis in ukraine, the headline in the usa today, experts hybrid warfare underway. u.s. and nato allies have been warning for days about imminent russian invasion of ukraine raising the specter of severe casualties and widespread suffering in the event of a war in europe. 150,000 troops on ukraine's border are not the only possible weapons the kremlin has ready. national security experts believe putin has launched a

devastating battle of a different time. a hybrid war of disinformation that could help him topple his vulnerable neighbor with far fewer shots fired. we are talking and focusing on the economy. are you optimistic or pessimistic? we will go to morris in asheville, north carolina. caller: i'm 71 years old. i lived in a young man during the vietnam era. i have come through the racial conflict and all sorts of economic problems. america to be is still the best country in the world. we have so many opportunities here today. we have problems outside of the country that are serious. we have to stop and consider how we will deal with our problems

within. we have to stop being against each other by race, religion, politics and become patriotic. learn to get along the best you can. this is the best country in the world. i traveled around the world when i was in the marine corps. i met some great people. this is a beautiful country. we have all the resources, no matter which way we decide to go. thank you. host: next up is ed in west palm beach, florida. mute your volume on your television and go ahead. caller: the problem with this whole thing is republicans don't want americans to enjoy life, period.

the build back better is being denied because it makes american suffered. they want to say see what the democrats did. all the inflation, no republicans showed up. zero participation. none showed up to do their jobs. they refused to give anything, just like they refused to vote against trump. they praise him, they worshiped him. the constitution is something they used to clean themselves with. host: bill in texas, bill is optimistic. caller: hello? host: you are on the air. caller: i agree to a lot of

the few other callers who have been calling in. they need to open up the oil fields. the oil field, i think it is in north dakota, it makes 500,000 barrels a day. he's got it shut down. he shut them down in pennsylvania, texas. that is what causes the gas prices to rise. as soon as he did that in our area right here, when he took office , gas costs $1.80, now it is $3.05. california is getting hit a lot worse than that. open up the oil fields. he has them shut down because he is a puppet of the people on the

left. then he goes over and talks about trying to get opec to have more oil. we have oil right here. there is a pool of oil there that you could run off for 30 years or more just off that one field. host: the senate banking committee heard from advisors who from pride advice to president biden the chair of the committee asked the chair of the economic council of advisors, a member if the economic recovery was occurring for all americans. >> the stock market always seems to bounce back with the lowest paid workers experiencing the most job losses -- the economic

recovery reaches all workers from steelworkers in ohio to newly unionize a -- >> thank you chairman. the president has been very clear on this issue. in fact in his address to congress last year, he said that his economic agenda was to build an economy -- to see strong, stable economic growth. that is why it was so important when he first came into office to focus on getting our economy, addressing big pandemic and getting us back to full employment so the american rescue plan was so important. there are charts behind us showing some of the successes. getting workers back into jobs. importantly, many of the gains particularly in wages have been

felt by workers at the bottom of the wage spectrum. when you get workers back to work, it has a pulling up effect. it has not solved all of the issues with inequities. i want to point out a couple other issues. the administration focused on making sure that pp p program went to those who needed it the most. there is three shirts showing that -- there is research showing that more businesses -- to access that program. that shows that you need to have a focused attention which is why president biden and the chair has said the whole of government approaches -- to addressing climate change and issues -- it is only to making sure that all of our policies are farthest on being inclusive and making sure these are the -- the top do not

-- are not unduly rewarded. host: the rear clear politics tracks -- including this one. president jibed -- president biden's approval rating -- the rcc p average from january 10 to february 15 approve of how the president is handling the economy. -- 57 point 6%. we are asking you whether you are optimistic or pessimistic about (202) 748-8000 the economy. if you are optimistic (202) 748-8001, if you're pessimistic (202) 748-8001 and if you are unsure (202) 748-8002. a couple of comments on social media and by text. this one says that knowing that the republic cons could take over -- and -- with another --

in california, this text, now five dollars per gallon of gas. biden promised to lower, you can see what happened there. another says business has been slow lately, the payments have been ended. march should be better. larry says, optimistic. wages have grown, we have weathered the covid storm. a congressman from florida says that -- reckless government spending and radicals -- let us hear from nick in michigan on the optimistic line. caller: hello. i am an optimist. i have been an optimist all of my life.

this situation is unsustainable and i am not confident in anyone in the biden administration. biden himself was -- even when he was -- he does not know what he is talking about. the economy is going to help, i am sorry. people spend like good sailors. at least sailors spend their own money and not the taxpayers money. i was a democrat all of my life. there is no single democrat that had a clue how to run this economy which is the largest economy in the world. it is an unsustainable situation. april think that maybe the democrats did not think that -- they can reach and grab a couple of trillion dollars and call it build back better. that is just another name for bribes and corruption.

-- we have that but approval is something that -- how is this attainable when you go for a simple procedure at the hospital which takes -- you do not even stay the night and then the bill comes and it is $20,000. this is for cataract surgery i did on both of my eyes in 2015. i was not even in the hospital. in and out. the bill was $30,000. i was covered, insured. the insurance -- host: to chesapeake, virginia. caller: the economy is crazy. every time democrats get in office, take over both houses, it becomes a spaghetti thing.

republicans got go in there and re-strengthen it out because they bubbled everything. i think every of them need to do a -- competence test. why doesn't that happen? so we can use the 25th amendment because it is really necessary right now. if we do not use the 25th, we are going to go down the tube. look at canada. look at everywhere else in the world. they are getting scared. taiwan is getting scared. everything is going to keep going up. host: the new york times report on the increase of retail sales. unexpectedly climbed. they write that consumer spending makes up the bulk of economic activity in the u.s. the federal reserve shifts its focus to battling inflation to battling -- two supporting

growth. the central break is expected to raise interest rates. -- it is david in missouri. he is on the unsure line. tell us why. caller: i try to keep an open mind about rising costs. i am on a fixed income, disabled. i do not understand how all of these people that savor dutch that say they are republicans -- i am not worried about who is doing what to whom. i am worried why prices are so high. -- the president supporting the pipeline -- it makes no sense. can somebody tell me why things have gone up so much? not just because of the pandemic and because people do not want

to go out and work anymore, -- gas prices in our state are $3.69. something has to give. we are out here suffering. the prices have gotten -- can anyone have a suggestion about how to get this rolling? host: you think eliminating or temporarily eliminating the gas tax would help at all? caller: it might relieve it some of the whole problem is we are worried about, it seems we are worried about buying all of our fuel from buying -- from other countries. i do not understand this. host: noel from new york who is optimistic about the economy. caller: good morning. i am calling because i feel

optimistic about -- it is important to understand that what mr. biden is doing. -- believe that they are supposed to get everything easily, -- he put on over $8 trillion. -- what i am saying to mr. biden, we have to talk to the people. that is why he -- is going down. he has to stand up and -- that is it. host: thank you for that. we had several calls asking about -- talking about the high prices of gas and suggesting

that oil production is down across the country, particularly in the biden administration. this website asked the question, why is not u.s. shale production soaring? here are some notes from that article. they say that with oil prices returning to break $100, many consumers are -- they say the major reason why shale companies are reluctant to increase production is that they have to keep shareholders happy. other issues include the shrinking number of's sweet spots for them to tap for that oil. here is james in louisiana on the unsure line. caller: i want to think you for being the town square for this country. i am confused because i want to be optimistic but i do not think

we are together on why we have some of the issues we have. right now it seems inflation is the biggest issue in our region we have been having inflation for the last two years that started with all of the hurricanes the last couple of years being more intense. the bad weather in the region has caused shortages in building materials and labor costs going up, that has been going on before president biden was elected. -- inflation in this region has caused us to go up. we do not seem to have any comprehensive ability to discern what is going on in our own backyard. we do not seem to have any unity

about what is important to the entire nation with all of the issues. we need to unify as americans and focus on not the philosophies of the problems but focus on how us, the united states are going to deal with us and our neighbors. i am optimistic because covid is almost off. in my opinion, covid was one of the most -- factors of why our economy -- although it indicates indicates it is strong, we do el it is strong. as covid duane's and we get a control on that, i think we are

going to start to be where we used to be. host: more the center heating -- more from the senate hearing. -- from montana asked for comparisons of the economy pre-pandemic and what it is now. >> looking back at the economy from 2020, we saw what i would describe as a goldilocks economy. we had wage growth across the board, inflation was in check, wages were actually growing the fastest for individuals on the lowest -- to me this broad-based , not inflationary growth was about as good as it gets. my question for the panel is this. would you agree that pre-pandemic economy from february of 2020 was better than the economic picture that we see today? yes or no would suffice.

>> i will agree that the pre-pandemic economy on net was looking fairly strong, however that pre-pandemic economy reflected many years of rather any mixed growth. it was reflecting even in terms of wage growth at the median -- there have been decades where as a median there has not been robust wage growth. we know that there were gaps in rage -- i would argue that while in february of 2020, the bones of the economy were strong, there were weaknesses there. this president felt we should address them. that is why his economic agenda is designed to increase economic capacity in order to generate more robust sustainable growth that can be more equitably shared. host: other news this morning on

new york civil fraud investigation. choque is ordered to investigate -- donald trump ordered to testify. to have his adult children must testify under old as part of the civil fraud investigation into the former president his company. the office of the new york attorney general has subpoenaed donald trump and to have his children, a ivanka trump and donald trump, jr.. seeking testimony from all three. state supreme court justice denied to block or delay the subpoenas and ordered them to appear within three weeks. he ordered donald trump to hand over documents within two weeks. -- commencing a business entity -- wants to question under old several of the entities

principles including its namesake. -- she has the clear right to do so. asking you this first hour, are you optimistic or pessimistic about the economy. if you are optimistic your number is. (202) 748-8000 -- if you're pessimistic (202) 748-8001 (202) 748-8001 your number is, if (202) 748-8002 you are unsure your number is (202) 748-8002 that is code-2 -- let us go to detroit. caller: there are african nations that have barrels of oil on the ground and not tapped. there is no reason why we should be talking about high gas prices and less these oil nations around the world are keeping the price of the oil at the level that is in. gasoline should sell more --

guess leeches so no more than four dollars per gallon. we have so much greed in our corporations that produce oil. this is why we are where we are at. we keep the american people and the rest of the world in the dark about how and what those corporations are doing because of the financial expertise that they have two control what they need to control. america and the world to wake up. they made the prices that does not exist. there are plenty of oil in the ground. god did not leave us short. that is all i have to say. host: on social media, on twitter. this one says corporate greed and -- the richer seeing record profit. our only hope is to get rid of most democrats, that's what this one says. -- at least they are not people.

janet says democrats are the cleanup crew. remember -- president biden is just cleaning up the donald trump residency. dan in michigan on the optimistic line. caller: good morning. i'm very optimistic. here in southwest michigan, if we could get rid of the bad weather -- there are jobs everywhere. in fact, we have a shortage of workers. we need worker training, apprenticeships and stuff like that. host: which industry needs it most in michigan? caller: the auto industry. i am an aging toolmaker and they are keeping me on three days a week because for 20 years they did not make any tool makers.

it is not a hard course if you know basic math and are willing to get off your but. host: why not? is there not an apprentice program? that is a pretty good union job, i would suspect. caller: i work in a nonunion shop and make $30 per hour. the unions drive the wages. i work in a nonunion job. host: you said you or aiden aging toolmaker, how old are you? caller: i will be 66 next month. host: why haven't people entered that career? caller: i have no idea. i am self-taught. i am probably one of the last self-taught tool makers around. i started out as basic machinist , machine operator in the 1970's. i worked in the auto industry almost exclusively here in

southwest michigan. i worked way way up to machinist. they got -- i looked around and said this tool making stuff, they cannot make a machine to replace that. that is why when into it. host: we want to let you know about some of our coverage on the c-span networks. at 10:00 right after the house pro forma, mike pompeo will discuss nuclear strategy and deterrence. it is a discussion at 10:00. also this morning on c-span2, senator tom young will be joining the policy center to discuss u.s. -- also available on our mobile app. it is our free mobile app. yesterday, here is the headline.

the latest saga of the spending bill, the temporary spending bill, -- the senate cleared a short-term spending bill thursday after democrats feedback and -- could've triggered a shutdown -- partial shutdown this weekend. this will extend funding -- to pass and overdue omnibus program for the fiscal year that began last october. let us hear from lily on the unsure line in alabama. caller: hello. i have three unsure reasons why -- when it comes to reporters and all of the questions they asked the president -- they are not the questions we want to hear. when it comes to the -- i'm wondering the reason -- they

only focus on the intercity -- i do to understand why they are focusing on the whole state. with republicans -- of what they are doing for the american people compared to what the parties are doing for american people -- that is what it seems like to me when i see things. show us what each party has done to make america better. that is what i would like to see. i would be unsure to see what -- if you have stock in oil that means you make money, if you do not have any, you are paying money. when it comes to the intercity, -- host: let us go to maryland on the optimistic line. caller: i appreciate you

allowing me to come on. historically if you would -- from the republican party going back to nixon, you would find out that there was a deficit in the economy left in shambles. every republic -- every republican administration -- i would like for you to educate the pop -- the pessimistic republicans listing on c-span. the historical record of the administrations under the

republican party and the democratic party, earlier said that republicans mess it up and democrats come in and clean it up. would you help the people, especially your eye and educated pessimistic republican party members, help them with education? they call in angry, talking about the border, talking about biden, talking about the stuff they do not understand because they are not educated. educate the people and help them. host: what area we have not touched on his housing. the housing shortage has been touched on. it was brought up yesterday by senator mark warner in virginia. >> housing -- will not happen overnight. this is a long-term problem that has been developing. beyond just direct government

programs, there are tax initiatives -- that i think makes them private sector -- give that kind of -- construction to developers, we should use these in our toolbox if you will. >> yes, that is an extremely set of questions and let me begin by thanking you for your leadership on this work and as well as others on the committee. we start by saying why this is so important. underscoring some of the points you make, senator. there are a long-term housing shortfall. 150,000 units -- multiply that by 10 and you get to the number

you are suggesting as far as i shortfall. -- in the bottom half of the market and why? because math is not always add up for builders to build along with the problem of exclusionary zoning problems. this makes this key to the equity agenda especially in rural areas and areas of color. the issue you raise is that of inflation. shelter is -- housing experts recently wrote that if policymakers are serious about writing inflation, they have little choice than to take on the shortfall in housings five. what can we do? the administration is already using executive power to increase housing supply and access. we have coordinated with various agencies spanning from freddie and hud -- affordable units over the next years. the administration toolbox is not nearly as big enough to deal

with the supply shortage that goes back a decade at least. host: this comment on twitter from elizabeth. she has been looking at new developments. they all have electric charging stations because people are buying electric vehicles. it is becoming walnut creek and concord. it is released from all of the choking oil. a couple more calls here on our morning opener. are you optimistic or pessimistic on the economy? on the pessimistic line, john. caller: how are you today? this gentleman that you just had on, he was talking about supply shortage -- shortfalls. let me elaborate on this. let me help educate your previous two callers. they talk about corporate greed

and ceo bonuses and elevated stock prices. you have this president biden coming into office, shuts down the pipeline, he constricts the oil market. you have a supply shortfall. let's look at a manufacturer, say an auto plant that has 10 cars they have to sell in order to break even to pay their employees for all the manufacturing and materials that go into the production of a vehicle. let's say you have a supply shortfall and instead of having 10 vehicles to sell, you only have six. so in order to break even, you have to raise the prices on those six vehicles. are you following me? we sure are. -- host: we sure are.

caller: when you shut the oil supply down and create a production shortfall and you still need the demand with the oil, what happens when you have less oil to supply the same demand? your democratic administration comes in and shuts down the pipeline, puts the squeeze on everything. oil producers still need to make their money and break even. you want to talk about corporate greed, $3.50 a gallon in pennsylvania. who is benefiting? your stockholders aren't suffering because the price still went up. your corporate profits are still going to be there. your bonuses are still going to be there. who is suffering? host: more, as we continue a focus on the economy here on "washington journal," talking

about different aspects of the economy. rector universities -- rogers -- rutgers university -- will talk -- next, inflation's effect on the economy. ♪ >> british historian andrew roberts in the introduction to his most recent book called the last king of america, 757 page opus on king george the third, says the following -- "the portrait of a heartless absolute sovereign is repeated almost every single day in america's print and online media. even two centuries after his death, hardly a day passes in the united states without some

reference to george the third where he is still held up as an 8 -- equal opportunity hate figure, archetypal bogeyman attacked by democrats and republicans alike." over the past 30 years he has written age or histories about the polian, churchill, and world war ii. >> british historian andrew roberts on this episode of book notes plus, available on the c-span now app or wherever you catch your podcast. ♪

>> "washington journal" continues. host: from rutgers university, we are joined by professor yana rodgers. we are going to talk about women in work and the effect of the pandemic. thanks for being here, professor p. guest: thank you. host: in terms of women in the workforce, what has been the effect of the past two years? guest: that is a great question. in a nutshell, we are hearing about the session with more women than men hitting hotter early on by work closures. they worked more in those sectors that had shutdowns and as this pandemic drags on,

childcare centers closed, schools lowest. the bulk of this supervising kids at home fell on the shoulders of women. so we did see more women leaving the workfare -- the workforce than men are cutting back on their hours to take care of this additional responsibility of supervising kids and taking care of children. and as the recovery has progressed, we've seen women slower to go back to the workforce. especially women of color, we see higher unemployment rates for black and latino women. the disruptions to childcare have continued as well. we even see a difference among income groups. i worked at my center at rutgers, women in work, is showing that the childcare

disruption during the pandemic hit lower income households especially hard. almost one quarter of households in lower income brackets had somebody lose their job or they lost income because of childcare disruption while wealthier households were able to shoulder the disruption and get by with paid family leave or by cutting back hours but not leaving their job. host: what is been the effect of the end of the child tax care credit, particularly for working women? guest: excellent question, our center has been looking at how that child tax credit extensions or the tax credit, how they were used, and we saw that households are really using them for basic necessities, especially for food, for rent, for clothing.

these were not payments that went wasted, especially again lower income households were more likely to use these child tax credits for basic necessities. so one of the things our center is recommending that the federal government extend those child tax credits in this new year. host: i know it's just one snapshot statistic but the monthly jobs number for january said generally a positive number, the number of jobs created nearly half a million, 467,000. it says women gained 40% of those jobs and had lost 1.8 million jobs since fibroid 2020. on that gain of 40%, assuming that means 60% of those gains were made by men. why isn't that number for women

stronger? guest: again, i think it's two big reasons. one is the sectors where women work compared to men, and we have different occupational distribution for men and women. the sectors that have been slower to recover and those jobs that are not coming back quite as quickly are predominantly where women work more than men. that, as well as the covid motherhood, disruptions to childcare have not stopped even though we have the vaccine and even though it seems like we are slowly getting out of the pandemic. there are still a lot of disruptions and uncertainty about will my daycare next week be closed because somebody was exposed? for those two reasons, where work -- where women work because

of men, and -- instead of men, and the childcare issues are the reason women have not bounced back quite as men. host: yana rodgers teaches in employment studies and relations at rutgers university and we are talking about the impact of the pandemic on women. if you are a woman and you are employed, (202) 748-8000. if you are an unemployed woman, (202) 748-8001. and for all others, (202) 748-8002. professor rodgers, for women, there have been a number of field -- career field that have changed but do you feel like fields where women have dominated like childcare and nursing, those fields in terms of employment has been altered permanently? guest: yes. the lower paid jobs are the ones

that were lost or not coming back as quickly. some of those jobs were essential jobs where women kept working even at the very beginning of the pandemic. so they were more at risk. another one of our reports shows relatively more women than men were in essential jobs facing the risk. women were mostly compared to men in services, and there is different kinds of services so we are seeing different rates of the comeback depending on the kind of job. overall, we did see that women face more risk as essential workers ring the pandemic and some of those jobs, and other cases they have lost their job because of the lockdown. so this is all happening for women. host: this goes back to our comment about the job gains in

january but this is from the national women's law center in their report says men have recouped pandemic related laborforce losses. women lag behind and they report the sharp contrast between men and women in the labor force indicates the uneven caregiving responsibility during the pandemic which has caused school and childcare disruption. how optimistic are you now that many schools are reopening, and restrictions being eased, that that number will balance out a bit more for women? guest: i am quite optimistic in research we did at rutgers. showed that in opposite sex households with two adults present, that both men and women were stepping up to do more work at home, not only childcare but also eldercare, care for the disabled, as well as housework.

yes, the gaps got bigger between men and women but men were also stepping up more. that's the reason for optimism that so many norms that women do at home are changing. we also showed in our research that when men step up to the plate at home, that is positively associated with women's job satisfaction and women's job productivity. it helps women to have their male partners in opposite sex households stepping up more to the plate. that's the reason for optimism. also, employers now are more likely to view flexible work arrangements are favorably. especially telework and working from home. of course, not all occupations people can work from home, but where it is feasible, again, optimistic that more employers will consider having these kind of work arrangements into the

foreseeable future. host: we've set aside our lines for the employed and unemployed women. that me hear your experiences particularly the last couple of years, with professor yana rodgers of rogers. the line for employed women is (202) 748-8000. unemployed women, (202) 748-8001 . you can also send us a text at (202) 748-8003. on expanding employment opportunities, senator richard burr talked about what congress should be doing to help americans with childcare. [video clip] >> we have to find solutions to key people in their jobs, schools and businesses open. i think we can agree that americans can't work or go to school if they don't have safe and reliable childcare for their families. instead of seeking workable

bipartisan solutions, the other side of the aisle insisted to do it themselves in a reckless partisan spending bill. only in washington with the answers be to create more complicated and just jointed program -- disjointed programs rather than to do the right thing, find bipartisan support. talking about the childcare grants. barbara mikulski and i led this plan that overwhelmingly passed with bipartisan support. we can do this again, doesn't need to be partisan. needs to be smart. if we are going to find workable and lasting solutions, we've got to find them together. host: professor yana rodgers, what do you think about senator burr's comments? guest: stepping back just a little bit from the particulars of the grants, i in greek -- i agree entirely that we need to

invest more in the childcare infrastructure in this country and in early childhood education. i know that was a key part of the build back better act that has been stalled. but i'm completely in favor of universal pre-k education as well as childcare subsidies and again, extending the child tax credits at the federal level. we also need to do more to increase the wages and benefits of our childcare workforce. these are all hugely important. what the senator did not mention that is all sleep -- also in and out of the build back better bill depending on negotiations, was national paid family leave. we had paid family leave on an emergency basis during the pandemic that has been ended. some states have paid family leave including my own, new jersey, but many states do not.

family leave at the national level is still unpaid and that's really not helpful for so many households. even something like earned sick leave, we have in some states including my own state, new jersey, but many states do not. we don't have it at the national level. there's a lot more that we can do to support working families. host: there's a story at the gazette.com with the headline " u.s. childcare providers struggling to survive." the challenge has been crushed by the pandemic. since the coronavirus arrived in earnest, about one third of centers have closed and one hundred 11,000 workers have departed the sector. congress allocated tens of billions of dollars including $39 billion last march under the american rescue plan. that included $24 billion in

grants to states to help providers struggling to stay open. they say it has taken the better part of a year for many states to even start the application process, let alone get the cash for those in need. what been the delay in getting this money? guest: i don't know the particulars of the delays but this is unfortunately the sad truth of many policies, that there are lags, delays. sometimes the information doesn't get out, people don't know about the benefits. or there may be some exemptions that they are unfamiliar with, or the rigmarole of bureaucracy. some examples include some states with family leave insurance, people don't always know about it, or there could be one part of a government that operates under this policy and another that operates under that part.

your question gets it the importance of implementation. it's one thing to pass policy but the implementation also needs to be smooth, well thought out, with ample and clear information for the people who are impacted and the organizations that are impacted. host: is there any early evidence to the struggle of childcare centers and struggle of parents to find childcare with the suppressed birthrate during the pandemic? guest: that is a good question, and i don't know the answer to that but it's a good question. host: in general, in terms of costs, what are we seeing in terms of childcare today for the typical child in a childcare center? how much is that going up during

the pandemic? guest: again, another good question. i don't know but using the little -- the law of supply and demand, low supply drives up the cost. it is not only the cost issue of childcare but again the disruption and anecdotally, i've heard of a number of centers that have stayed open. they are short staffed and parents are getting calls an hour or two after dropping off their child, please come pick up your child again for no given explanation, but they suspect the reason is that the center is shortstaffed. cost is an issue but also these disruptions as well as closures. host: professor yana rodgers with us from rector universities center -- rocked her -- rikers university. (202) 748-8000 for women who are

employed. if you are unemployed, that line is (202) 748-8001. we welcome your comments by text as well. all others should call (202) 748-8002 and we welcome your comments by text at (202) 748-8003. let's go to tim in michigan. go ahead. caller: hi. i was just wondering how come there are so many programs out there that does not seem to actually function properly, or maybe they do for some and maybe not for others? and why would they just keep throwing out programs, maybe the reason why women are staying home and not working is because they do want to take care of their kids. and they want to raise them as their own and not send them off

somewhere else. that's my question. host: is there a particular program you talking about? caller: i don't really get involved. i've gotten involved a little bit with government and i've been watching your show for a while. and it just seems like there's so much government out there that we don't need all this stuff thrown at us. host: we will get a response from our guest. any thoughts? guest: this is sometimes a problem with bureaucracy where it's one thing to pass the policy or support the program, and another thing to have whatever the cost is of the program, go through the appropriate channels and set up the best way to implement these policies. there's some learning involved in some layers of government and

it takes time to do this, but careful study, like what we are doing at the center and doing surveys and asking people about are you aware of this program? did you get the benefits? what were your problems? does need kind of follow-up surveys and questions to help iron out some of those wrinkles so that the policy can work as it is intended to. regarding your question about -- for your point about some want to stay home with their kids. yes, absolutely true, but some are income constrained or they want to work and just can't because of the childcare. you are absolutely right, some people do want to stay home, mothers as well as fathers. in many cases as we saw during the pandemic, these were not choices but they were more so

constraints because of disruption and closures. host: we've obviously gone to a remote workforce for many workers across the country and that continues for many workers. perhaps will continue even after the pandemic is marginally done with. how do you think the remote work situation has affected women in particular, and do you see that benefiting them in the future, giving them more choice and time for things like childcare? guest: i do think that remote work has benefited many families. women as well as men. it has a noise been easy for a parent working at home to juggle childcare and child schooling and child supervision with working from home, but overall it has been a good management tool in terms of combining childcare with work and getting

paid and not having employment disruption. as you said, not every kind of job is amenable to telework so there are some people who are disadvantaged, some of our research shows that white individuals are more likely to be able to telework from home then -- and disabled. not everyone gains equally from being able to work from home but i am a dutch optimistic that employers -- optimistic that employers see working from home in a different light. the technology has become a common word. the infrastructure is much more in place compared to 50 years ago, as well as attitudes from employers and workers. as well as the social norms around working from home. host: in the money and live

session of "usa today" focuses on one worker whose job has changed. "it's a vicious cycle, raked to get worse." "ms. mcgee is black and works at the gift store at the museum, says for most of her married life she and her husband made too little to qualify for bank loans. we could barely make the rent, said ms. mcgee. being a black female you don't get the better paying jobs. if you get the job they don't pay you as well. it is hard to overcome the obstacles when you feel like you are constantly being pushed down over the pandemic. she and many of her colleagues had to take a 30% pay cut. were women the first to see the cuts in pay and loss of ours? guest: i don't know if they were so much the first but more women

than men saw the pay cuts, cuts in hours bang -- in hours, and job loss. data coming out from the national government, especially the bureau of labor statistics, shows that women of color were harder hit by a cuts as well as job losses and cuts in hours. interestingly, if you look at the overall national gender wage gap for the last two years, that wage gap has been closing. so one might think, women are doing better. the relative pay has gone up compared to men, but it's actually an artifact of who is losing their job. we sell relatively more job losses for women in low-wage jobs so the people who are left

are higher earning women and interestingly, that's helping raise overall women's relative wages compared to men at the national level. it's more so a statistical artifact of whose left the low-wage jobs. more women lost those so the gender wage gap is closed. host: on our line from an floyd women, dee -- employed women, dee in california. caller: where was all of the concern years ago? i have been in my job 20 years ago and raised a special needs child but i had to pay that out of my pocket. at the end of the year, i only got -- if it reached 7% of my income i only got a portion back. i'm not quite sure why all of a sudden you guys woke up to this realization when we raise our kids and struggled for all these

years. you are talking about special-needs children, please, there is such -- there is no places for these kids. what are you doing about that? are you talking about people they go to work at minimum wage? i'm so frustrated at this that folks are getting free stuff now when everybody struggled and we are still taxpayers working. host: professor rodgers, your thoughts? guest: economists looking at gender gaps have been arguing for decades about the need to increase women's earnings through policy, national policy as well as better employer policies. i know my own research -- i've been arguing this for decades -- and you are right, it's been

slow progress. finally care has gotten the spotlight during the pandemic because the world realized how much economies need and societies and families rely on care and the importance of care has always been marginalized. it took this pandemic to really shine the spotlight on the value of care and the importance of care. but there are a number of researchers and policymakers who have been arguing about the importance of government to support care, for decades. and regarding a special needs child, you are right, there's been a lot of marginalization around people with disabilities and their caregivers. our research at rutgers is showing that people with disabilities were harder hit. those with jobs were more likely

to lose their jobs compared to people without disabilities, and less likely to telework from home. and their caregivers have been shouldering an enormous burden during the pandemic and before. i agree with you, more needs to be done. but we have been doing this kind of advocacy for quite a long time. now it's more mainstream. i think care has become mainstream in terms of these discussions. host: host: what are wraparound services? what does that mean? guest: my understanding is they are training services to help people who have not been in the workforce for a while get retrained, learn the latest apps, learn computer skills, and also have support for any

training they need. that is my understanding of what they are. host: what is the mission of the center? guest: great question. thank you. our center does research as well as training programs and community outreach, all around the economic health and well-being of working women and their families. true to the rutgers university slogan, we have a focus on new jersey but a global reach. we look both at the new jersey state level, some national work, and globally the status of women, their health, and their economic well-being. host: let's go to san francisco and hear from marylyn on the

employed line. caller: i'm working woman. much like the previous caller, i struggled to raise my child as well with little help. i don't mind the idea of providing tax credits and subsidies and that sort of thing, but i do not think it should be tied to families that have children. i personally don't believe we should increase the birth rate in this country or world. i think we should provide universal basic income if we are going to give out free money to disabled adults or other adults who are struggling. i, fortunately, am not in that situation, but i feel it is unfair to people who do not have children whose children are grown or chose not have children

in the first place to penalize them and say because you do not have a child, you don't get child tax credit. i just don't think that is fair. as far as subsidizing childcare to begin with with the build back better bill, i don't support that at all. i agree with the guy from michigan. even though i am a financed -- feminist and vote liberal, 99% of the time i believe children should be raised by their parents and not daycare workers. host: ok, yana rodgers. guest: you are right. there has been a discussion in support of universal basic income. it is more of a norm in other countries, especially in western europe. we have been hearing more about it, not only in conjunction with the pandemic but also the future

in general as more jobs become automated and jobs occupied by people are now being performed by machines and artificial intelligence. i agree with you. there has been more discussion of universal basic income and more support. in terms of benefits just for families with children, i do think it is important to have support specifically helping families with children. but you are absolutely right. people who do not have children also need to have support, even policies provided by employers. why not call them work/life balance policies rather than family-friendly policies? at work, it should not just be employees with children who can take advantage of these kind of

work/life balance policies. but i do believe when it comes to government policies that we should prioritize subsidies for child care and other supports for families with children, but not at the expense of households that do not have children. host: on the line from cleveland, ohio, is kathy. good morning. caller: good morning. it was my experience when i was working that the employers would hire new workers on second and third shift where there was no daycare. so, what i ended up doing was going to an older family number and asking them if they would babysit for me while i went to work, because my husband and i both worked second shift. that is the only thing we were offered. maybe if there is no daycare

available for people, they asked the older workers on the dayshift. guest: great question and comment. you are right. many employers do not offer childcare on site. it is hard to find childcare centers open past 6:00 p.m. so people like you when you are raising your child are forced to have to go to family members or other home daycare providers. one thing i believe we can do better across states is have more consistency in certification of home daycare providers and have more regulation so children will be safe and well cared for when going to home daycare providers. of course, that does not really impact having your child stay with friends or family members.

but in terms of where there is room for government support, i think it would be with home daycare providers. host: next, we will hear from ron in monroe township, new jersey. good morning. caller: yeah. i think women make up about 50% of the workforce, and they have special needs for childcare and for health. i think these special needs should be met. if they are not met at the time they are needed, we are just going to pay for them in the long run if children cannot reach their full potential. i was a child of special needs. in 1953, i went to one of the best school systems in the country and i had special ed. and i had a very good life, and

i graduated college. every child needs to reach their full potential, or we will pay for it later in life. host: professor rodgers, what is the effect of early childhood education on the success of people later in life? guest: yes, greetings also from new jersey. thank you for raising that important point. there has been so much work done on childhood development showing children who receive they care they need, whether from parents or high-quality centers, daycare centers or childcare providers, thrive later on. they do well in school. they are well socialized.

some of this research is also looking at mothers who have access to maternity leave, paid maternity leave, which allows them in the first year of the child's life to stay home with the child and breast-feed and establish that bonding. this research is showing paid family leave, paid maternity leave, as a positive impact on children's later development. so, the care that a child receives, especially in their first year, is critical. the evidence does support trying to have policies that allow new mothers to be home with their children, especially in that first year, using some sort of paid maternity leave or paid family leave. host: you mentioned earlier the rise of automated jobs, artificial intelligence. is it too early to tell how that trend will affect women in the workforce?

guest: there is growing research out there now about substituting different kinds of machinery for women's jobs. it is more context specific. it depends on what kind of jobs are being displaced. but i think, globally, the evidence shows as we see technological improvements, may tend to have more negative impacts on women's jobs than men's jobs because women are more likely to work in lower skilled jobs where machinery can be replaced by higher technology , more tech intensive machinery, and women are more likely to lose their jobs. that is in the manufacturing sector. host: a few more minutes with

yana rodgers from rutgers. the line for women employed (202) 748-8000. if unemployed, (202) 748-8001. the line for all others (202) 748-8003. 500,000 u.s. nurses are expected to quit this year. nationally, vacancies are up 45% from a year ago according to the bureau of labor statistics. they expect 500,000 more nurses to quit this year, leaving the nation short 1.1 million nurses. they write that nursing shortages are not new. nurses from the baby-boom generation have been retiring in large numbers. structural changes led hospitals to remain lean. what can we see in the future in

particular for women in the nursing field? that is a stark statistic but also a real opportunity for entering that field. guest: yes. it is a huge problem. stress and burnout have been in the normans problem in the u.s. -- enormous problem in the u.s. in nursing, and globally. there is a critical need. if we have investment in new jobs, we have to have it in new jobs to make in the traffic again. the point about hospitals making their nursing staff lean. they did that before the pandemic and in the pandemic with personal protection equipment. a big reason we had shortages when the pandemic first broke out in ppe is because hospitals

had the incentive to keep very low inventory of ppe, just like they had the incentive to have a lean workforce. this turned out to have huge negative consequences. the shortage of ppe also contributed to the burnout and stress nurses faced because they had inadequate ppe at the beginning of the pandemic. it all points to the importance of more investment, not only in nursing but also ppe and having adequate stockpiles of ppe and so forth. people will enter those jobs if the wages are good enough. we need higher wages and better terms of employment in nursing. host: we talked about this earlier in the segment. women's labor force participation is still lagging

as the pandemic eases. what you think the long-term benefits, long-term structural changes to the workforce that may benefit women? guest: i do believe we are going to get back to the pre-pandemic numbers of women's labor force participation sooner rather than later. before the pandemic, we reached a point where women made up slightly more than half of the total workforce in the u.s. i do think it is important for families to have women participating in the workforce. i'm optimistic we will get to that point sooner rather than later. host: here is another point of view on childcare. a text from sue in new jersey

says, while i appreciate efforts on behalf of women in the workforce, staying home with our children when they were young was actually best even though we had to make sacrifices. she says the two-income trap isn't always the best option. guest: yes. that is absolutely true. i do believe in women having the choice to stay at home and if they want to stay at home, that is a good fit. who can criticize staying at home and being a full-time mom with children question mark that is wonderful. not everybody has that choice. single mothers have to work, and households that cannot make it on one income alone, and we have women that perhaps could make it without working, but they want to work. so, yes, in this economy and

with the support we have, there is room to have all these different kinds of models for whether women work or not and how much they work. host: you are a professor at rutgers. what has been your experience and the experience of your colleagues at rutgers, who female colleagues at rutgers, with all of the changes to the workforce nationwide? guest: yes. rutgers did go remote. we were teaching from home. i think my colleagues and i, male and female, quickly rose to the occasion of learning the latest positive teaching techniques on zoom, adapting, and trying to have the best experience that we could for our students. personally, i am a mom of three, but my children are older, so i

no longer had to with the pandemic commute to rutgers. i could work from home so it was good for my own productivity. but my colleagues, faculty and staff with younger children, were doing the juggling. the research showed not just at rutgers but nationally that for professors, women professors with children, younger children, struggled more and had less productivity in terms of their research and publications compared to male professors. host: yana rodgers is the faculty director at rutgers university's center for women and work. thanks for being on with us this morning. guest: thank you. a pleasure to talk to you and the viewers. host: still to come, we will be joined by the r street institute's jonathan bydlak to look at president biden's handling of the economy amid

inflation concerns. ♪ >> american history tv, saturday, on c-span2, explained the people and events that tell the american story. at 2:00 eastern, how did george washington's experimentation with farming influence his views on slavery? the author offers his thoughts in "washington at the plow." at 2:50 five, coverage of the international conference on world war ii in new orleans with discussions on women reporting on world war ii and navigating the war's history. watch american history tv on c-span [applause] -- c-span2, and find a full

program guide online. watch anytime at c-span.org/ history. ♪ >> "washington journal" continues. host: continuing our conversation on the economy with jonathan bydlak, the government program director at r street institute, here to talk about the administration's policies and efforts. we saw one of your pieces last month in the rstreet.org.

it says inflation stays for the holidays. we have come to learn the rate of inflation is the highest in 40 years. what do you see as the root causes? guest: first, thanks for having me. i think it is a combination of things. we had a lot of people scaling back demand during the pandemic. people did not want to eat in restaurants or they were worried about shopping in stores. that created a ton of pent-up demand. when you combine that with the fact that many people have more income, we saw savings increase during the pandemic, largely because of lower spending and increased government benefits. on top of all of that, easy money from the federal reserve and a lot of supply chain problems we have seen. now, we have demand rebounding and supply not able to catch up.

and people having more disposable income than they would have had normally. that is a recipe for price increases. i don't think it is that surprising. the surprising part for many people has been how long and substantial it has lasted. i don't think anyone should be surprised by the inflation numbers we have been seeing. host: the headline from the association press -- associated press is biden has a plan but patience is short. how much of inflation can you blame on the policies of this administration? guest: there is significant blame. obviously, there was huge amounts of spending from the last administration. this has been a problem for both administrations. if you look at this administration in particular, when we started, there was an output gap of about $400 billion.

in march, it was spent on the order of $1.9 trillion. spending was far greater then economists were estimating the out put gap would be. that is basically a recipe for price increases. at the end of the day, the government has to borrow to pay for the spending. we have had the federal reserve being very accommodative, for legitimate reasons. but when you have that kind of fiscal policy happening at the same time as stimulative monetary policy and demand rebounds, the only real responses for prices to go up. -- response is for prices to go up. host: in a piece that you wrote for "the american spectator," you wrote, of late, the biden administration has counted the benefits of lifting people out

of poverty and advocates extending the expansion tend to frame it that way as well. the ctc is an inefficient way to do so. what would be a more efficient way to do that? guest: i think the biggest problem with the ctc as it stands is it is incredibly costly. the cbo scored that part of build back better with an impact of $85 billion. that is with it being phased out in a short time. if you ask yourself, what would that look like if it were made permanent over that long of a budget window, the impact builds up to $1.6 trillion. it is incredibly expensive. i think with respect to the child tax credit, the program is

fine but it does not do what many people say they want it to do. the goal now seems to be to use it as a way of alleviating poverty at the lower end of the income spectrum. because of things like work requirements, it is hard to target that money to people who supposedly we are trying to target it to. the biggest beneficiaries have often been people who are already making a substantial amount of money. that is due to changes made by the administration last year but also changes made in 20 by republicans. it is a very expensive way and inefficient way of targeting funding at the moment to those at the lower end of the income spectrum. host: this is one person on twitter saying i took 100% of the tax credit and invested it in my children's prepaid college

fund, did not throw it away on needless craft like most of the entitlement people in the country. does that say to you that the ctc was to broadly targeted? guest: it depends on the goal. in the context of uncertainty in a pandemic when people do not know where their income is coming from, i think a lot of measures taken by the government can be justified. you would rather see them more targeted. we do have to ask ourselves. the situation we find ourselves in now is very different than march of 2020. what we should be doing from an economic standpoint is very different. we have vaccines. we have demand rebounding. and yet, we have been still operating under the assumption we did not have a solution to the problem of the virus. i'm not seeing the solution is perfect.

but the economic reality has changed because the pandemic conditions have changed. unfortunately, the policy prescriptions out of washington are largely a continuation of those things implemented early on in the pandemic. i think that is a mistake. what you're seeing with respect to inflation is a respect -- reflection about the state because the underlying conditions are not the same anymore. host: we are talking about the biden administration economic policies. jonathan bydlak is with us. we welcome your calls and comments. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents and others, (202) 748-8003. what is your group's mission and how is it funded? guest: we promote free markets and real solutions.

we are generally supportive of using the free market and those kinds of solutions to solve public policy problems. we are trying to be as centrist and reasonable as we can be. our funding comes from foundations, individuals, and corporations that have an interest in our work. host: a question on twitter from jim. the president said inflation was called by supply line disruptions and spending three chilean dollars -- $3 trillion would stop it. was he correct? guest: there is no doubt supply chain problems are part of the picture. demand and supply both have an impact on the price level. that is a factor. i think the increasing consensus

is the increase in demand more than anything else is what is driving what we are seeing. it can take time to have supply come back to normal. it is definitely a factor. the idea of spending a ton of money and giving people more money at this point i think is foolhardy. all you are doing is increasing demand at a time when supply is already having trouble catching up. host: let's go to calls and hear first from ann in north carolina on the democrats' line. caller: good morning. other countries have inflation as well. does this mean the biden administration is responsible for inflation in all other countries? i read the u.k.'s inflation rate is expected to be 7%. i'm sort of puzzled everything

is saying what the biden administration has not done. last year, when the pandemic was in full force and many people are not driving, of course, gas cost plus. -- less. as demand increases, the gas price goes up. i think it is awful to continue to say this administration is responsible for inflation other countries are having inflation as well. can you explain? thank you. guest: great point. i don't mean to disclaim this administration. the previous administration in four years spent more money than the obama administration did in eight. we should keep that in mind. one of the biggest legacies of the trump administration really talked about is how egregious they were with respect to the nation's finances.

i do think the biden administration has continued and escalated that. if build back better where the path, the biden administration would have signed more spending into law than trump did in four years. we have been on this escalating curve. the reality is many of the world governments have been engaging in the same type of policies. expansive fiscal policy and accommodative monetary policy. we are seeing inflation in other parts of the world, in part because those countries are engaging in the same policy solutions we are. i should also note that the u.s. economy has a very important role to play in the world economy. there has been much written about ways we can export inflation to other parts of the world because the u.s. dollar is treated as a reserve currency. we should not underestimate the

outsized role the u.s. economy and u.s. fiscal and monetary policy can have on the rest of the world's economy as well. host: next is catherine in minnesota. go ahead. caller: i am surprised we are not managing as we do things like the child tax credit. this is going out to everyone. i do think people who make beyond a certain amount do not need this. we are not really figuring out about people may not be going to work and things like that. i guess i feel like we are giving these incredible reimbursements and we are not accountable. no one was helping meet pay my childcare or anything like that. and we did not make what people make now. it seems crazy to me. host: jonathan bydlak? guest: it is a good point.

it is interesting to talk about history. much has been written about the biden administration expanding benefits and increasing the size of credit. the increased eligibility was passed in 2017. that bill, among other things, increased the threshold to $400,000 for joint income, which is not really an antipoverty measure when you are providing that benefit to people making that level of income. i think there is a role for a child tax credit, but i think we need to rethink what the purpose is. if we are trying to accomplish the alleviation of poverty at the lower end of the income spectrum, the way it is structured is a very inefficient way of targeting those funds. at a time when we need to be thinking about the state of the government's finances, it is

something policymakers should be rethinking for that reason as well. host: we will hear from jack and maryland, republican line. caller: jonathan, you said people stopped shopping because of covid and that caused inflation. you forgot all about joe biden shutting the country down. you forgot all about joe biden cutting the oil off and oil exploration. host: jonathan, we have had a number of calls about will production. what is the story on oil production during the biden administration? has it been greatly reduced? guest: i think there is an attempt to take some of these things and project them out and say this is the reason for the entire phenomenon we are seeing. these types of things can play a role. fuel prices are up substantially and up more than the average rate of inflation.

that is a factor. we should keep in mind there is something to it although it was not the biden administration as much as individual states and localities. if you look at consumer behavior, especially early in the pandemic, people stopped going and engaging in economic activity before the mandates were enacted by states and localities. i think generally consumers are smart. government policy often tends to follow consumer behavior rather than the other way around. i think sometimes when we put the blame on these sorts of things, we are ignoring the fact that consumers were already engaging in that behavior in the first place. host: looking ahead to the march meeting of the fed, jodi on twitter says inflation should

prompt an increase in the interest rate. last time we were here, we fixed it with higher interest rates. sounds like a calm 101 -- econ 101 to meet. do you think that will fix it? guest: i think at the end of the day, it is the fed's mandate to control the price level. i think they will have no other choice but to raise rates because inflation has been more stubborn than they may have initially anticipated. there will be consequences to that when we think about what that will do for employment or economic growth. the stock market has been going up. i think there will be real consequences, just like when we

tackled inflation at the end of the 1970's and early 1980's. i think the caller is right. we are not going to have a choice but to have to take some sort of action to control the price. host: more on the fed from susan in illinois. please ask this gentleman if he thinks the fed has done a good job for joe sixpack americans. guest: i think the answer is both. both monetary and fiscal policy have a role to play. i think increasingly they have worked together. we have had the fed providing accommodative monetary policy to allow the federal government to engage in expansionary fiscal policy. for a long time, we sort of assumed there were not really any consequences to spending beyond our means. i think we have gotten a lesson in the last six months that is not always the case.

the federal reserve is doing the best job they can in thinking about where they think inflation is going to go. i think it is common knowledge at this point that what we have seen in the last few months was not what they were expecting. in that sense, their actions are responsible at least in part for the inflation we are seeing because they did not take action that would have nipped it in the bud before we got to this point. host: let's hear from shawn in columbus, ohio, democrats' line. caller: i have a question for you, jonathan. i hear you talk about the child tax credit not being targeted enough. what about the ppt loans? that money was not even targeted. it was just given out. there is no auditing. we talk about the more money we put out, the higher the inflation. that was a big chunk of money that went to small businesses supposedly. how did that affect it?

guest: that is a really great point. there have been a lot of stories in recent weeks and months about inefficiencies and waste in the way that funding was delivered. this gets back to a general problem with the way we have responded to the pandemic from an economic standpoint. i think a lot of policymakers looks back at 2008 and 2009 in the financial crisis and housing crisis and implemented a lot of solutions. they were relatively uncreative with the toolkit. they said, what are the things we can do? we did this 10 or 12 years ago, so let's do the same kinds of things now, even though the nature of a pandemic is fundamentally different than the housing crisis or financial crisis before. the pandemic was by large and unforeseen, exogenous shock to the system. that was very different from our experience over a decade ago.

i think some of these tools like ppt were largely derivative of actions taken by the government back in the day. it should have been much more targeted for those people and businesses that were actually experiencing hardship. any time you have large government programs like this, especially in the context of a national emergency, we should not be surprised a lot of money is going to go to waste. host: mike in houston, texas, republican line. caller: good morning. the biggest customer in america is the u.s. government. big companies are more than happy to comply to maintain a very cozy relationship with what goes on in washington, d.c. it is not ironic that coca-cola and all these major companies with thousands of employees and

international locations and so on are more than happy to do whatever it is to comply with a woke agenda or whatever it is. smaller businesses that do get set aside and dismissed, the restaurants, what percentage of them have closed down? family businesses, small businesses, i cannot imagine how they've survived the last two years. just unbelievable. the other point about trump's spending, what else was he supposed to do during the pandemic? the airline industry and hospitality, you had big industries that had to be sustained. there was no other way but to spend trillions to sustain them in the abrupt whiplash of two years ago. it is unfair to just flagrantly criticize trump and the spending that occurred when 39% of the

standard budget goes to medicaid, medicare, and social security. 10 million baby boomers are turning 65 every single day. i was born in 1964. 10,000 turn 64 every day. they are collecting social security. there is a lot of commitments the government has that they cannot change and modify the discretionary spending. trump did spend too much. you have to turn the direction of the titanic in washington, d.c. host: ok, mike. several points, jonathan bydlak, go ahead. guest: with respect to the trump spending, for years, republicans have talked about entitlement realities we are facing in this country. when they were in power, the trump administration and republicans in congress did virtually nothing about it. i think we can fault them for not addressing those realities after decades of talking about

these very real problems. with respect to trump spending, the trump administration was spending very aggressively even before covid hit. the levels of spending we saw in the first couple of years of the trump administration, which by the way was also when republicans again had control of congress, was substantial and on par with what we were seeing in the last administration. this was not just a covid problem. then when you talk about spending in the context of covid, i agree there was a federal role and absolutely many things were done -- that were done were necessary. that does not mean they were necessary in terms of the actual scale and the way they were implemented. my critique is i do think those levels of spending could have been lower and targeted much more effectively than the ways we were addressing them via the cares act for example.

that is why we are seeing things like incredible amounts of fraud and waste with ppt and some of these programs. i think because there was a federal role does not mean the particular federal path that we undertook was the right one. i think that is where there is a lot of room to be critical of the last administration. host: a trump supporter on twitter tweets saying, lowest minority unemployment on record, real wages grew after years of stagnation under obama, energy independence, secure southern border, no new wars started. thomas in baltimore, maryland, on the independent line. go ahead. caller: i am just a working-class stiff. i spent many years doing without some things to save some money. i have $200,000 in the bank. 7% inflation means i will lose $14,000 a year.

the value of the u.s. dollar is going down. is there any connection between inflation, the dollar buying power, and the u.s. government printing more money? guest: yes. what we have basically seen is a disregard for the price level, in part because there were more pressing concerns in the short term. we were trying to combat the pandemic and the economic reality that was presented as a result of the public health crisis. to my point from earlier, i think policymakers on both sides have operated under this assumption that deficits don't matter. dick cheney years ago made the famous quip about reagan showing deficits don't matter. we have been engaging in a very low inflationary environment and by extension had low interest rates.

i think we have all gotten used to that sort of economic environment. the economic realities of the late 1970's and early 1980's are outside of the collective memory of millennials and more recent generations. i think older generations, while they may remember that time, it seems foreign compared to the economic environment we have been used to over the last 40 years. obviously, there have been people talking about these types of problems. i do think it is an important reminder we have to be very deliberate about the policies we are pursuing. that goes both for the federal reserve and policymakers in washington on the fiscal side. perhaps if there is a bit of optimism, you see the comments by senator joe manchin who is very much aware of the economic realities.

that is probably what we need more of, not less. host: headline from foxbusiness about the uptick in retail sales, up 3.8% in january. retail sales rise faster than expected despite surging inflation. how much are americans spending part of the inflation problem? guest: i think that is part of it. to some degree, it is a symptom. you have to ask yourself, why are americans spending more? a big part of it is the increased savings on aggregate during the pandemic. they had more disposable income. they were not willing earlier to engage in this kind of economic activity. as the economy has opened up, as vaccines have become available, as americans have become more comfortable with the status of the pandemic, they have found themselves in a situation where they have more disposable income. they have a higher desire.

we all want to go eat in restaurants and engage with humans after two years of social distancing and so forth. and then, you add on top of that some of the supply-chain difficulties. all of these things come together and create an environment that is very conducive to prices going up. host: let's hear from dorothy on the democrats' line in altoona, michigan. good morning. caller: good morning. i would just like to make a comment about the child tax credits that i am against. there's too much government. the government is talking about the single moms not being able to make ends meet. however, nothing is ever said about the father of the single mom's children, whether he is

paying child support. and maybe the single mom is double dipping money from the child's father plus the government handout. and that is really all i have to say. have a good day. host: jonathan bydlak, a comet? --comment? guest: there are difficulties with the government programs. there is always the proverbial waste, fraud, and abuse. it is important we are vigilant about these kinds of things. i do think there is an important point about the distribution of workers. married families have a different income distribution than single moms and single fathers. it is a great opportunity for further study about these kinds of gender gaps in these programs, especially when you consider we have aspects of the

program that make it difficult for single moms in particular to get access to them. some of these raised questions should be studied by think tank people and academics and so forth. host: up next is adrian, in anderson, indiana. go ahead. caller: thanks for having me on c-span. i think this is not really a problem or issue with the biden administration. i believe most of this problem, most people take it too far. i think this is really basic. host: you are feeding back, adrian.

sorry about that. we will go to robert in kentucky, republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. talking about the inflation problem, part of that is the restriction on trucks in the state of california not getting to the shipping containers. you have the shortage of trucks because of the restrictions of the state. you have a shortage of trucks because of the restrictions of the state with the age of trucks, because of pollution restrictions they have got. they are not keeping the stores stocked. the factories that need a lot of stuff from overseas. that is a problem of inflation.

a fellow mentioned a while ago about people on social security and medicare. they paid for that. i worked 47 years. i think i paid for my social security. that is not a giveaway program. i paid for mine. you want to talk about a giveaway program, take a look at the house of representatives and the senators. they get a huge amount of vacation days per year given to them. they get a huge amount of sick days given to them. host: ok, robert. jonathan bydlak, how much was the trucking industry hurt by the shortage of drivers? guest: that is exactly it. think the caller's point is broader than the trucking industry. we learned some regulations we had have made it tougher private sector actors and companies to

respond to the pandemic effectively. think about the certificate of need laws that made it difficult in the states or telehealth. some of these regulatory burdens are very real. we would be wise to revisit them in the context of the post-pandemic world as well. it is good to get rid of these types of laws when we are dealing with the pandemic. it may very well be a good idea in the post-pandemic environment. i should make one point about the comments on social security and medicare. i actually agree in the sense that we all have been paying into these programs. i think there is an expectation that when we get to retirement age we should get these benefits. i think the challenge, particularly in the case of medicare, we are not actually paying enough for the health care we ultimately use when we get into older age. that creates a problem where

there is this perception that the programs have been paid for over the course of our lives when they have not been. that requires the government to restructure the program in ways that create long-term solvency that otherwise does not exist. i agree entirely. when you provide people with a program meant to save money for retirement, i think it is wrong to pull the rug out from under them. that does not mean we don't need to think about the long-term viability of these programs. just like when we talk about things like climate change where we recognize there may be a crisis down the road and we need to take action now, we need to have the same attitude when it comes to entitlement programs. it is something you can only solve by taking actions now. host: there is a headline that reflex ideas being battered about in washington.

the federal gas tax is a little over $.18 a gallon. would that help? guest: these types of things are nibbling around the edges, so to speak. gas prices have gone up significantly. taxes are a significant portion for the cost of gasoline. they don't necessarily describe why we have seen the increase in prices. this is an attempt to reduce the topline cost because of market reasons for why gas has gotten more expensive. these types of things can be useful. but i think in terms of thinking about how we solve a worldwide inflation problem, i think the reality is we are going to need bigger actions than some of

these smaller measures. host: the next call is from new york city, bob, on the democrats' line. caller: i'm going to talk about an issue we have not talked about. i don't see the fed, they are the ones that control inflation basically by raising interest rates and lowering them. we see the republicans easily saying we are concerned about inflation and blaming biden for it. but it is really the fed controlling the economy of how we spend money, what money is in the system. and yet at the same time, republicans are not voting it in. they are going on recess and not even putting them in.

what are republicans doing and are they really concerned about inflation if they are not putting the fed board in? do you believe 50 basis points would be a good idea coming in march to raise interest rates? host: ok, bob. guest: if i knew which amount of interest rate increase would be coming, i would probably be running my own hedge fund rather than my current role. the point from the caller is a good one. this is a problem that starts with the federal reserve. you have to have accommodative monetary policy to sustain the expansionary fiscal policy we have been engaging in. at the end of the day, the fed's mandate is to control inflation and the price level. i think they, just as much as anyone, have gotten used to low

inflationary environments. obviously, there have been some members that have spoken out and been concerned about inflation. there have been many others that have seen inflation as a phenomenon of the past. i agree that the federal reserve needs to play their proper role here. as far as republicans, this is always a challenging thing. these things always get caught up in politics and games folks like to play. in my view, the problems we are seeing now have been very much caused by both parties. i would argue they're going to require both parties putting aside their differences and coming together to improve the nation's economic situation. host: a comment on supply chain issues on twitter. this viewer saying, if corporations did not outsource employment to other countries,

there would not have been a supply chain issue. employ americans and pay them a living wage instead of cheap overseas workers. guest: well, look, companies are going to do what companies are going to do. they are going to do what is in their self-interest. i think we should ask ourselves the question. are there things in our public policy that encourage companies to take these types of actions? we have not touched on things like immigration. at a time when we are hurting for workers across many industries, another way to solve that problem is to allow in more people who want to come here to work. unfortunately, that is a solution that seems to be too much of a difference between the two parties. it would be an important part of the solution. to his point about actions being taken by companies, we have to

ask ourselves, when we are seeing inflation rising now, you have to say, what changed to cause that inflation to occur? some homes people point to these sorts of issues that can be real issues, but nothing has changed so they don't hold that much explanatory power as to why we are experiencing the current phenomenon. host: a couple more calls. wisconsin is next, republican line. good morning to mary. caller: good morning. i was wondering if the money they want to give to families to put their children in day care, when they get into daycare, [indiscernible] they are already [indiscernible] kids in grade school. they cannot speak in care for themselves -- and care for

themselves and defend themselves. i think that is their primary agenda. already in schools, they want to change the sex of the child, calling them by different pronouns. host: we will get one more call on the economy from sam in roseburg, oregon, democrats' line. caller: i keep hearing people talk about the keystone pipeline and biden closing it down as the reason why gas is high. nobody seems to bring up the fact that the keystone pipeline was tar sands oil from canada going across the united states to texas refineries to go overseas. it was never going to go to our gas stations. people keep bringing it up. host: ok. guest: point taken.

what is missed here is the energy market is the world market. ultimately supply and demand at the worldwide level has very real impact on pricing in any locality. i don't think it is quite as easy to separate some of these effects and assume it will not have an impact regardless on u.s. energy. host: jonathan is the governance program director. we thank you for being with us again this morning on washington journal. guest: thanks for having me. host: head on the program we will hear from you on the open forum. hearing from you on news items and topics in public policy and politics you are following. for republicans, (202) 748-8001, democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents and others, (202)

748-8002. we will get to your calls momentarily. ♪ >> on almost all presidential rankings lists you will find warren harding's name at or near the bottom. tonight, historian ryan walters says that while he had his faults, his accomplishments are also overlooked including bringing the country back to normalcy after world war i and the economic plan that led to the roaring 20's. mr. walters lays out for why president harding should rank higher. >> he has finished last in more servings than any other president. him in james buchanan runs at him that -- run neck and neck.

there's a lot of myths and falsehoods and outright lies. when he accomplished as president of the united states is actually quite impressive. host: sunday at 8:00 eastern on c-span's "human day -- "q&a." ♪ >> following president biden's historic pick for the next supreme court justice all the way through the nomination process. download the free c-span now app. >> "washington journal" continues. host: it is open forum for the

final half-hour you could call in on any news item, public policy, anything and politics you are following. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. democrats, (202) 748-8000. all others, (202) 748-8002. the latest reporting on the conflict between russia and ukraine, up to 190 thousand russian troops on ukraine border. this is from the hill. a u.s. envoy detailed reports of up to 190 thousand russian troops along the ukrainian border. opec had evidence that russian troops are now at the border compared to around 100,000. here's what defense one says poland is doing. poland to buy $6 billion in

tanks, bridges, explosives. russia's advancing forces grow to 190,000. let's go to kevin first in the open forum. caller: good morning, how are you doing? i wanted to make a comment on mr. bydlak's point. people think they are funding medicare by these taxes but they are really underfunding it. i wonder how you would respond, i know he is not there. the medicare tax related to obamacare of 2.8 percent for incomes over a particular threshold. at some point you are funding it. at what income level are you actually funding it? thanks for taking my call. host: in texas, mike is up next on the democrat line. caller: you had some real good

callers. the thing i don't understand, we paid into social security our whole life. host: you are breaking up a little bit. caller: people that have medicare paying $171 a month for office visits that they hardly ever use unless they are sick. i don't understand. one other point. what really drives me crazy is the legal system. it goes in favor of the politicians and the elites. the average person, they put the lie right onto them and they have the family values and everything now.

it is hypocritical. how long could this go on? how long can we talk about family values and religion? that is my point. host:: the u.s., here's the story about how many u.s. troops are in poland. giving reassurance to allies. the new york times says the last of the nearly 5000 troops arrived in poland on thursday. bringing reassurance to a pivotal nato ally. the expertise in assisting with the evacuation of possible american. here are the numbers. another 1000 american troops from the cavalry regimen from

germany to romania should be in place by saturday. the reinforcements with more than double the number of american ground forces to 9000 in poland and 2000 and romania. u.s. soldiers, russian troops, and proximity outside of drills in years. janice is on the republican line in arizona. caller: i feel very lucky that i live in arizona. our governor did not shut our state down. we were able to keep our business open. these people have never run a business. we have to pay taxes -- small corporations like our business that makes over $400,000 a year,

that has to be given to taxes. we never put $400,000 in our pocket. why would we give somebody tax credits for daycare when they are not even working? they have also taken this. we had 3 million people hit our border. everyone takes this as a joke. put them in the states that are not stuck with them. we will see what the hospitals and schools go through. biden wants $30 billion more in medicare money? it could be proved, they don't deny it. this gasping, my husband works -- it cost us $500 to $800 more

about than gas -- in gas. washington doesn't pay for gas. nancy pelosi gets military wherever she wants to go. i see them get out of those limos, who is paying for that? i love this country, i want it safe. i have eight grandkids, i don't know how they will bake it in this world. host: minnesota representative dies of cancer. representative jim hagedorn has died with a 2 -- after a two-year long battle with kidney cancer. he served in congress and followed his father who represented the same district in the late 1970's and early

1980's. fox correspondent weakness about jim hagedorn. he says he is the third house member to die. a new breakdown of the house is 433 members, 220 two democrats, 211 republicans. his colleague in the minnesota delegation, i'm saddened by my colleague, we had different political views but a respectful friendship and a shared love for minnesota. condolences to the family. may his memory for a blessing. senator ben ray lujan sent this in a tweet this morning. through the love and support of my family, medical team, and new mexicans i'm getting stronger each day. thank you for the well wishes

from folks across the country. i'm back at work and will return to the senate floor soon. the senator had a stroke a couple of weeks ago. seattle, washington, it is stephen on the independent line. dog head. tash go ahead. caller: democracy is failing in the united states. that is a lot to do with the way we do election. the electoral college means our presidents are decided by the electoral vote but not by the popular vote. we have presidents that were not the will of the american people. similarly, the senate is disproportionate. otherwise it is not democratic.

also, a lot of things could be decided democratically by national referendum. i just had some colleagues talking about the cost of medicare. if americans could decide by referendum, it would probably pass by more than 70%. it is really a constitutional crisis. insignificant changes to the constitution, i don't think democracy will survive. host: let's hear from george on the democrat line. caller: i'm calling because there are so many things that i find that we could be thankful for and do together. in this environment we will

never get anything done if the republicans and democrats, in my opinion they have worked so very hard to be disingenuous instead of the opposite. we are going nowhere. i understand now. the emotions to allow veterans, to give them special license wherever they want to. to give them a special license to shoot people i believe it is in tennessee.

the second thing i am really upset about is that in georgia -- it is in florida, they have found that republicans have gone to these different housing complexes where people are elderly and not as sharp. they forced them to change their affiliation. that needs to be investigated. people needs to be charged. it needs to stop. host: the house is coming in a few minutes. should be a brief session at 10:00 eastern. a couple of things about the voting on capitol hill. proxy abuse, house democrats you

don't talk to congress spent big on campaign travel. house speaker announced last week that she will extend the march 30 the proxy voting system in place for lawmakers to avoid travel during the pandemic. the most frequent users have traveled regularly for their campaigns. the proxy voting system has been used exclusively by democrats and accumulated 12,005 hundred votes citing the unprecedented nature of the coronavirus. the pandemic hasn't stopped them from running up luxury travel. another story on the senate side is from the new york times. the headline on his piece says this. it needs to speed up.

the senate hit a nasty partisan impasse. when they cast their own votes there is broad consensus among republicans and democrats. frustration over the slow place -- pace that the senate votes leaving most of its members to most of the concepts that would be formed. policing themselves to stay on schedule. in other -- more than 80 have signed on originated by thom tillis, a senator from north carolina it says the senate's presiding officer could close a vote of the signatory is the sole missing senator and the vote would be mathematically certain not to change the outcome. it is not the cure for covid and it will all other fight, it could be considered progress.

it is open forum here on washington journal. we will go to john in windfalls idaho. caller: thank you. donald was trying to get rid of these people abusing the system. the democrats and their lavish travel on the taxpayers dime. governor whitmer dashing those truckers freedom, they didn't bash the uaw. there are people who want their freedom.

telling trudeau to bring in the troops. this lady is a whack job. our system is broken. they are all abusing the system. this interest, the inflation they are quoting is higher than they are letting on. politicians abusing the system and our money. the money they get to illegal aliens. i have a clinic by my house where all day long it is a continuous stream of people getting free health care.

if i go there, it cost me. it is ridiculous. host: next up is joe in iowa. caller: i just want to say with respect to the anniversary of all that have taken place, i feel sorry for and i do not believe all republicans who own guns are being taken advantage of in this life. i think there is a right to own a gun. i will say i feel sorry for a majority of them who don't understand that the nra is simply using them. it is mainly about power, greed, control. especially with your reference to the poland purchasing guns from us. it demonstrates that there is so

much money going into that. the ceo recently stepped down because of the money he extorted or falsely gain the nra and benefits from in his multi-acre home and so forth. republicans don't see this as this being used in the nra profiting off of them and what they are always touting with regard to other people. we want to feel safe also. i want the freedom to go to a mall or movie theater, or grocery store and not feel like there might be somebody out there with a gun's with too much

in their own mind to care about anybody else. host: just a look at our schedule coming up in the next couple of minutes here on c-span . the houses coming in briefly. right after that we will take you to a conversation with former secretary of state mike pompeo on u.s. nuclear strategy. that is at the center for national interest. shortly after 10:00 a.m. here on c-span. on c-span two it is indiana senator tom young talking about bolstering u.s. innovation. both of those events available online at c-span.org or follow them on the go with the c-span now mobile app. jd is in oklahoma city and on the republican line. go ahead. caller: i would like to know why

there is only one state in america that requires the people that own property to be americans. it seems like our countries being bought up by these other countries and we can't invest in any of their countries. they could come over here and buy up our farms. host: which state is that? caller: it is either illinois or indiana. the person that owns property there has to be a resident of america. host: do they have to be a citizen? caller: has to be a citizen. host: ok. we will go to pat on the independent line. caller: i just want to call in because it is really irritating to hear all of these trump supporting callers ignore the fact. talking about the travel the democrats do and how much it cost, they are working. donald trump spent one third of

his presidency on the golf course. they insist the press mistreated mr. trump. they did not. they only reported what he was actually doing. whenever he spoke, now we know he destroyed government records. the big thing they like to hook onto, our intelligence agency spies all the time. the trump campaign contacting russian agents dozens of times. it followed where it led them. i just wish they would get their facts together and click making fools of themselves. donald trump is an insult to everyone in intelligent. thank you so much. have a great day. host: a couple of stories here on the durham investigation.

a lawyer with clinton ties asks for charges to be dismissed. former campaign lawyer asked a federal judge to dismiss the charges filed against him by special counsel john durham. in a court filing thursday, they said the charges against him are bogus and rn example of overreach. the unlawful overreach, the single count against mr. sussman should be dismissed. mr. sussman has pleaded not guilty to one charge of lying to the fbi by not disclosing to a bureau official that he was working for hillary clinton's presidential campaign when bringing him tips of a trump-russia link.

another perspective of that story, durham distanced himself from right wing falsehoods. they write that john durham scrutinized the investigation into russia's 2016 election interference. distanced himself on thursday from false reports from right wing news outlet. in a vote -- in a motion he recently filed saying the campaign paid to spy on trump servers. setting a barrage of reports on fox news and elsewhere based on the february 11 filing. michael sussman accused the special counsel of including unnecessary and misleading information in the filings, plainly intending to politicize the state. in a filing on thursday, mr. durham defended himself saying those accusations about his intentions were simply not true.

he said he had valid and straightforward reasons in the february 11 filing that set off a firestorm of disavowing responsibilities for how certain news outlets interpreted and portrayed members of the media overstated, understated, or otherwise misinterpreted fact. that does not in any way undermine the valid reason for the government's inclusion, he wrote. let's hear from braswell, new mexico. we will talk to carol. caller: i'm surprised i got through. i was enjoying the conversations. i wanted to speak to the fact of something i saw last night. that was the fact that the f ederalist part of our government was having a meeting.

it showed the side of the democrats and the side of the republican. not a single republican was that at this very special meeting. we need republicans to participate. show up, be involved. host: glad he got through. lou is next in tampa, florida. caller: god bless america. i appreciate being a voice. i have to tell you, can you hear me ok? host: yes we can. caller: there's a problem with affordable housing. rents are going up in tampa and all over the place. they are squeezing everybody. it is crazy what is going on. they gave us raises last year.

the food prices are going up $300 or $400 a month. that is beyond the rate of inflation. everybody call their congressman , the money they are getting from investors. all over the country this is going on. we should have a moratorium on rent increases. it is blatant, the rate of increase. that is what we are talking about. host: here is peggy in jackson, tennessee. caller: me? host: mute your volume and go ahead with your comment. caller: there are too many

people talking and not listening. it was good when president trump was in there. we didn't have wars or inflation. when you show a child, a cartoon taking care, you know what i mean? host: we will let you go there. we have an obligation as we have since 1979 to cover every moment of the house. we are back tomorrow morning at 7:00 eastern. next up it is a pro forma session of the u.s. house. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2022] [captioning performed by the national captioning inst