about president biden's upcoming visit to the detroit auto show. later, we will discuss ukraine's counteroffensive against russian forces and other developments with retired army lieutenant general stephen twitty. [video clip] >> exactly four weeks ago today, i signed the inflation reduction act into law, the single most important legislation passed in congress to combat inflation and one of the most significant laws in our nation's history. i said it then and i will keep saying it. with this law, the american people won and special interests lost. host: that was president biden at the white house tuesday at a celebration of the passing of the inflation reduction act, a

health-care climate change impact bill. it took place on the same day a government report showed inflation in august remained near 40 year highs. defying forecast of a steeper decline despite falling gas prices, which leads us to today's question. are you feeling optimistic or pessimistic about government ability to control inflation? if you're optimistic, the number to dial is (202) 748-8000. if you are pessimistic, give us a call at (202) 748-8001. if you are not sure, dial (202) 748-8002. you can also text us at (202) 748-8003. find us at facebook.com/cspan, on twitter at @cspanwj, and on

instagram at @cspanwj. tuesday at the white house, president biden called this a victory, celebrating the inflation reduction act and its provisions to address health care costs capping insulin and out-of-pocket costs for people on medicaid. he also mentioned the climate change provision, including tax credits for electricity -- elect vehicles -- electric vehicles. he mentioned the bill will be paid for by increasing taxes on large corporations and the rich. that is the inflation reduction act, which over 3000 people attended the celebration of the white house tuesday. meanwhile, republicans pointed out the inflation reports for august did not meet expectations , that prices had not gone down and actually had risen slightly,

causing a huge dip in the stock market. we are showing today's front page of the wall street journal, with the headline stocks sink on dashed inflation hopes. prices increased after excluding volatile food and energy prices, showing inflation pressures remain strong and stubborn even as the year over year increase was slightly slower. again, that is this morning's wall street journal talking about the dip in stocks tuesday after the inflation report. other headlines include an abortion bill that was proposed by south carolina senator lindsey graham. it would limit abortions -- it would prohibit abortions federally across the nation

after about 15 weeks. i am now showing today's new york times front page and the headline is gop unable to find unity over abortion. the article starts out saying come up weeks antiabortion advocates and republican allies have been quietly seeking to rally their party around a single platform on abortion, hoping to settle division and blunt political damage from the issue with growing opponents in the midterm election. when senator lindsey graham came ahead with a proposed 15 week national abortion ban intended to unite his party, the result was only more division. that is this morning's new york times front page. we want to mention an issue that could bubble up as soon friday. that is a potential strike with

the freight railroad industry. this is an article from cnn i want to show you. this is the washington post we want to show you about that freight rail strike. it threatens possibly supply chains. the white house is planning what it would do if the strike actually happened. again, it could happen as early as friday. cnn reports that two rail unions have reached tentative agreements on a new contract, but the most important unions representing the engineers and conductors who make up the two person crew on each train, remained at loggerheads in negotiations. if they do not resolve their differences, the first national rail strike in 30 years could start early friday. again, that is with the freight rail system. those are our headlines this

morning. we want to hear from you about what you think about inflation and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic about government ability to control inflation. before we get to your calls, let's hear more from president biden yesterday at the white house. touting his economic record thus far. >> look will be already accomplished together with the historic american rescue plan and economic resurgence. jobs are up. people are back to work. since we came to office, we have created nearly 10 million jobs, a record for any presidency up to this point. unemployment at nearly a 50 year low in this country. more small businesses than any time before in our history and american manufacturers coming back, 606,080.

where is it written that america cannot lead a manufacturing? for all the criticism i got for gas prices, they are down more than $1.30 a gallon since the start of the summer. we are making progress. we are getting other prices down as well. we have more to do, but we are getting there. we passed an infrastructure law that will modernize american roads and deliver clean water, high-speed internet to every community, eliminate every leadpipe over the next 10 years in every home and school. host: now let's hear from senate republican leader mitch mcconnell of kentucky. he was on the senate floor tuesday and focused on the new inflation report. [video clip] >> here is the comparison that

matters most to american families, especially with an election in less than two months. how are things today compared to january 2021 when this all democratic government was sworn in? how are they compared to january 2021? here is the answer. food prices are up a total of 13.9% since president biden was sworn in. gas prices are up 58.5%. electricity costs are up 21.6%. the overall across the board inflation rates since president biden took office is a catastrophic 12.5%. this very day, president biden and democrats are having a celebration for their latest reckless spending bill, which they pretended would reduce inflation, but which nonpartisan

experts say will actually make it worse. they could not look more out of touch if they tried. host: now let's go to some of your calls. if you're optimistic about government ability to control inflation, dial (202) 748-8000. if you are pessimistic, call (202) 748-8001. if you are not sure, the number is (202) 748-8002. first is brian in grand rapids. what are your thoughts? caller: can you hear me? i am from grand rapids, minnesota, not michigan. my name is brian. i am running for mayor of this small town with a population of about 10,000.

i'm a candidate for the working poor and families and wonderful senior citizens who are on fixed income like myself. i just turned 65 years old and i do not think the government is the answer to every problem. however, i appreciate president biden's going to go to detroit, michigan, motor city, motown, with the electric car thing. at least biden and his people are trying to help more disadvantaged americans. host: you say you're running for office in grand rapids, minnesota. as you talk to voters, what do they want from government when it comes to inflation and rising prices? what are you hearing? caller: a lot of my contemporaries want to increase

the sales tax year. that is no good. that is regressive. all that does is get the super rich to get the poor people to pay for things. we have to get the very wealthy to pay more taxes. that is basically the people that support me have a philosophy on. host: thank you for your call. let's bring up steve in new jersey. you are pessimistic. tell us why. caller: i am because people are looking at the issue not in the proper way. inflation started with the last stimulus package. the federal government spent

$1.9 trillion and approximately 70% of that was borrowed from the federal reserve, so this was the federal government, the administration pulling 70% of that money out of thin air, so people want to know when it began. it began at that time. you can go back to last year and see how the money supply increased. it is the money supply that is inflating and it translates into higher prices. i want to give a simple economic idea and people who know anything about economics knows there is the equation of exchange, money supply times the velocity of money equals prices times quantity. so if the money supply increases , prices increase or output increases. unfortunately for joe biden and

his brain trust in the white house, prices have increased. this -- the money supply has to be controlled. the administration borrows against the federal reserve. host: phil in new jersey, you're optimistic about government's ability to address this issue. tell us why. caller: thanks for taking my call. i am extremely optimistic. i think we have to get away from this doom and gloom attitude that a lot the republicans are trying to expound to the people, but i think we have to get away from that. we have to look at a little history as it relates to -- we

are living in a capitalistic society. what comes with capitalism from what i know of history is recessions, inflation, depressions, the possibility of that. those are components of a capitalist society. there are others, but those are some of the things that are part of history in this country. we have survived all of those difficulties in this country, and we will survive again. we just have to be patient and go with the market. my financial advisor tells me be patient with your financial forecasts. the market goes up, the market goes down. we just have to be patient with things. things will get better and maybe 50 years from now they will get

worse again, but they will get better again. host: let's go to david in west virginia. you are pessimistic. tell us why. caller: i am very pessimistic. i will give you an example. me and my wife went to another state sunday. we went to applebee's to eat. there were not many cars there. people said to wait and we walked right in. we went inside. i saw these empty booths. i said, we are going to get it quick. the lady says, you have a 20 minute wait. i said, why? she said, we only have one server. they have no people working. he brags on tv about these jobs he has created. every place you go, you see signs, help-wanted, help-wanted. if he has created so many jobs why are there so many signs for

help-wanted? he gets on tv and lies about these jobs he has created. if he has created so many jobs, why are there so many companies needing help? they just get on tv and tell you all this stuff, but it is nothing but a line. you will not see these signs everywhere for people where they want help. it is because they give out all this free money to people. it is stimulus money, stimulus money. people take this money and nobody wants to go back to work. there is where our problem is. they talk about how the economy is. he talked but how he lowered gas prices. what about diesel fuel. our country runs on diesel fuel. trucks move the products. it ain't come down none. i am a farmer. our diesel fuel and coming down none.

he said he lowered gas, but he has not lowered diesel fuel. gas has nothing to do with that. host: that is david from west virginia. we are taking your calls on whether you're optimistic or pessimistic about government ability to control inflation. those numbers are (202) 748-8000 if you're optimistic, (202) 748-8001 if you are feeling pessimistic, and if you are not sure about whether government can get the issue under control, dial (202) 748-8002. our next caller is glenda from texas. tell us how you are feeling. caller: i am very optimistic by the situation because our president is doing all that he can to help the people in need

and i am optimistic. when the market fell yesterday, it does not affect people that does not have money, so to me capitalism creates inflation. people with money are not trying to help our president to better the situation in america at this time. i am just disappointed in the republican party because they are not part of the solution but part of the problem in the inflation, so god bless america. i love you. let's stick behind our president on election day. thank you. host: we are talking about your confidence in government's ability to control inflation.

i want to bring up some tweets by elected officials from tuesday regarding that ability and their thoughts on president biden's celebration. we had senator chuck schumer, who said on twitter today at the white house it was an honor to stand together to celebrate how the inflation reduction act will create jobs and fight the climate crisis. mega republicans -- maga republicans are fixated on their extremist agenda. he tweeted, today democrats are joining president biden at the white house to celebrate the inflation reduction act while republicans defend tax hikes for the working class and try to put medicare on the chopping block. democrats are focused on creating jobs and lowering costs. let's go to calls now.

audrey in eldon, maryland, you are pessimistic. tell us why. caller: i am because i feel the government is nothing but takers. i have a tidbit of information that happened to us. my mother's social security got hacked. taken to a bank in england where the money has been sent for the last three months. the social security department is wondering why it could be going broke but does not track down that money. we have to do that and replace it meant so they are not only replacing my mother's money but have now given -- it was taken -- the criminal -- the money, and they do not track them down.

so they did give me a number to turn it in for investigation, but they do not investigate their own. so our money now was paid to some hacker. thank god mom gets reimbursed, very grateful for that. that is also being paid. it is just -- it is very confusing, why there is not more control, people knowing where the money is going. social security you would think would be tight. all the person does is to -- is go into her account and change her address and they are now the payee. in the social security company paid out twice, so everything is messy with the government and very pessimistic with them. they just take and take.

i do not see that getting better . thank you for taking my call. host: thank you, audrey. next is cynthia in miami. tell us why you're optimistic. caller: i am optimistic this morning because i feel like the president is doing everything he can. the wheels of government does not turn that fast. they just don't move that fast, but things are being done. i heard the president say there are jobs. there are jobs. i heard a caller speak about a lot of help-wanted signs. that means there are jobs. people are not taking the jobs with the coronavirus still around.

can you call it a weary state? where you do not feel concrete in anything. you have a virus that nobody can tame and the way things are going, the man is doing what he can. i would rather be optimistic than pessimistic about anything right now. we could all pray. maybe things could change and get better. thank you for your time. host: let's hear from bob in west virginia. what are your thoughts? caller: i am just very pessimistic about the entire situation in this country. it is a shame. all we have to do is look in the mirror and see, and my any better off now than i was four

years ago? my answer is absolutely not. i cannot answer for my grandkids , who never will see the national debt pay down because of the -- page down because of the constant blunders in the white house and that organization over there. who could have a celebration yesterday what our entire country is in the toilet now? they say inflation is great, 8%. try to feed a family of four in any grocery store and tell me how much money more you are spending now or even if you have to spend it. hello -- no, it is not working. a lot of people are going to freeze to death this winter because somebody wants to build

an electric car. come on. host: ok. that was bob. now to wayne in georgia. you are on. caller: good morning. i am not sure what is going on because both local parties have problems. the previous administration put tariffs on chinese goods and also limits immigration. the current administration is more or less putting more money into the economy, so the problem is -- when the guy talked about no one wants to work, the problem is that you have -- you do not have workers because we do not allow immigration to take place to fill those jobs. we are in a rock and a hard place because we cannot get people to come and work at cheaper rates, labor rates, and

we have so many jobs available that we cannot fill. the government really has to work together to come up with solutions and allow immigration to take place and stop putting so much money into the economy. we do have too much money in the economy now, but it is a labor problem and logistics issue going on now. that is my take. host: next let's hear from jerry in livingston, tennessee. caller: thank you for letting me call. stop and look back at when president biden took office commenced 7% or 8% unemployment. we are doing good.

there are jobs out here for people. you just get up and go to work and inflation will take care of itself, but inflation and very high for people who are back to work that did not have a job. there inflation was high before this happened. seven out of the top 10 states our welfare states, entitlements , our republican lead states. get up and go to work, republicans. that is all you have to do. look at what they are trying to do to women. you are in trouble now. i thank you for taking my call. host: we are talking to you today about whether you feel optimistic or pessimistic about government ability to address inflation and rising costs. if you're optimistic, give us a call at (202) 748-8000.

if you are pessimistic, dial (202) 748-8002 if you are not sure, give us a call at (202) 748-8002. we want to hear more from you this morning. let's go to doug in fairfax, south dakota. you are on. caller: i do not have much faith in the government. all the government can do is point fingers from one party to the other party. trump had a lot to do with the inflation, getting interest rates down here and he was putting money out there and now biden is putting money out there , so that has a lot to do with it. companies are going to make money. the more it costs them, the more they are going to charge everybody like me. i am in business for myself. like that guy said on diesel

fuel, the other day when i filled up it was $140 to put diesel in. i raise my prices up $20. big companies are going to do it. democrats spend too much money. we are at $30 trillion in debt. i do not think anybody plans on paying it back. interest rates, i would like to see them go higher. i got money in the bank. you know what they pay me for interest? .15. they charge 7% and 8%, so you people have a good day. let's hear now from john in palm coast, florida. what are your thoughts? caller: we have too much spending. that is a problem. look at the national debt clock. we are approaching $31 trillion.

how do we recover from that? how we stop spending? why are we spending $4 trillion a year on the national budget? why are we hiring 87,000 irs employees and not 87,000 border patrol employees or security guards to watch our schools? who is watching the watchers? that is the question. host: diane come at you are up next in st. paul, minnesota. what are your thoughts? caller: first, thanks for taking my call. i am very optimistic and i will

tell you why. when mr. trump was in for those four years, i had to work three jobs to keep up with everybody else. it had to do with the salaries being paid. that is the reason people are not going back to work. you are not paying anything out here. you have cta that takes care of our old lee people -- our elderly people making $30 an hour in minnesota. i can imagine what they are making down south. you want to get something back, let the republicans get in. i will still be optimistic because i make things happen for myself. i do not wait for someone to make anything happen because government is not in control of inflation. we live in a democracy, a republic or whatever.

these people set their own prices and that is what is causing inflation. then we have the pandemic. first-line workers were working every day, but most people were home. it did not help none when mr. trump give the 1% that tax decrease. my taxes went up. that is what happened to us. middle-class taxes went up. the fed got all the money on the top so everyone has a ton of money to spend now and that is what they are doing, spending. none of the southern states talk about inflation -- debt when trump was in. he ran the debt up. even people tax breaks they should not have had. host: we are going to have to move on. dolly a -- dalia in miami, give

us your thoughts. caller: first, i am on a fixed income, my husband and i. i go to the store and i buy the same groceries that used to cost a certain price. now they are up four dollars and five dollars more. this is ridiculous. people do not understand how the economy works. they raise taxes on companies and people that make money. you know what happens? those companies reduce salaries, reduce taking people in, and they pass on the rates to us, to the middle class. i used to work for customs. i am retired from customs.

those people cannot handle the amount of people coming in. people who are flooding this country and we do not even know who they are. this man in the white house and the vice president have the nerve to get up there and say the border is closed. it is not closed. it is going to get worse. around capitalists, they do not like it. i come from a communist country. socialism and communism does not work. it makes equality, everyone equally poor and under the thumb of the government. where you do not have any rights and don't dare complain because

they will put you in jail, which is pretty much what is happening now with this government. they are going after people who complain. they are going after trump because they are afraid of him. there are so many ignorant people out there that it is unbelievable. why do you think hispanics have turned against the democrats? because they come from countries -- host: let's bring up bertram in maryland. what are your thoughts? caller: good morning and thanks for taking my call. you are doing a wonderful job. i was telling an interviewer that our home prices have gone

up about 45% since a year, year and a half ago. i'm struggling now to get 100 gallons of oil, of heating oil in my home. it is $5.02 per gallon and a year and half ago it was three dollars. if joe biden thinks -- november is coming when it is going to be cold -- that people are going to come out and vote for him and his party, i do not get it. i think he is clueless. thank you for taking my call. host: let's talk now to josh in west virginia. give me your thoughts. caller: i live in southern west virginia and i think -- we need

to get more stuff from america. natural gas, oil. we are supporting this county. families around here can barely get enough to eat. host: let's go to some of your tweets you have sent us at twitter.com at @cspanwj. joe lewis says, i have confidence president biden is doing everything he can to mitigate inflation, but this is a global problem caused by the pandemic and corporate greed. it is not entirely up to him. she says, once groceries climb in price, they never go back down. this inflation would be happening no matter who was in

office. the government can only do so much. we are outspending supply. this is a tweet from steve scalise, saying inflation is up 8.3% over last year. electricity is up 15.8%. gas utilities up 33%, rent up six point 7%, transportation up 11.3%. so much for the inflation reduction act. this is a congressman. today's inflation numbers show there is still work to be done to lower costs for american families. the good news is the inflation reduction act is going to further lower inflation in the coming months. help is on the way. we are taking more of your calls

. do you believe the government can control inflation? if you are optimistic about that, give us a call at (202) 748-8000. if you are pessimistic about government ability to control inflation, call us at (202) 748-8001. if you are not sure, the number is (202) 748-8002. next is just in spring hill, florida. what do you think? caller: i am optimistic about the inflation. we have had it before. we will have it again. anyone curious enough about finding out why will see quickly it has nothing to do with the president. i want to make a comment to bob, who said something about the $30 trillion national debt.

while it is completely out of hand, if you go to google and request the national debt by president, you will find out democrats have raise the national debt by 140% and republicans have raised it by 460%. so they are looking at policy and why we are having trouble with national debt. there is your reason. host: let's hear from rob in new york. what do you think? caller: good morning. i am glad you asked. i am pessimistic. one thing, the media will not talk about last night's news that the guy who gave out the steel dossier works with the fbi

and the fbi stole this election. you have to look at the evidence. you guys had mike lindell on. he confiscated -- they confiscated his self will last night at a hardee's in minnesota. this is a stupid conversation. you need to talk about the stolen election. get with the program. host: let's hear from melvin in fort lauderdale, florida. caller: first, there was a lady from florida talking about how we are so ignorant. she is. the reason why the gas prices went up is because during the pandemic trump had opec, saudi arabia, cut back 10,000 barrels of oil a day. that would end up causing oil prices to go up because that

10,000 barrels a day -- that is why none of these oil companies are closing down refineries. when you talk about spending, trump spent eight $.2 trillion in 40 years -- in four years doing nothing. obama came in with the second largest issue with the economy and country history and only spent 8.9 trillion dollars in eight years. trump spent -- the men spent $8 trillion in four years. when someone talks about democrats spent too much money, they need to look at presidents since world war ii and who spend the money. reagan started off by tripling the debt and republicans have been the biggest spender of money since then.

it is not even close. they need to actually start reading stuff and you need to get someone on to actually get these facts out and start sending out the information. it is incorrect and i do not understand why you are not try to correct some of these ridiculous, false statements that they are giving to social media. host: let's talk to brenda in arkansas. caller: thanks for taking my call. i am pessimistic. james taylor is behind pelosi and biden, singing fire and rain, which is about death and suicide. nancy is telling the audience to applaud her. if you cannot get your own applause, something is wrong with an audience of democrats. and schumer is giving away to applaud him and joe biden is screaming at people because he

things that shows strength. there is no relief at the pump. biden is using our reserves and now it will cost taxpayers $80 to 100 dollars a barrel to replace it. this reprieve is not helpful and i do not think help is on the way for our border. it is not on the way for mothers with no baby milk. it is not on the way for the middle class. i am concerned. people say how much trump spent. his reign is over. let's talk about what biden is spending and it is an outrageous amount. and to have the nerve to pay student loans when taxpayers, a lot of them have not even been to college or they paid for their own college. it is an insult to the average american, so i am not only pessimistic, i am disgusted. it is depressing. democrats caused this disaster. they need to fix it and they

have about a month to do it. i do not think it is going to happen. host: let's talk to david in asheboro, north carolina. what do you think? host: -- caller: first, inflation is so high right now. people cannot buy groceries like a family used to be able to. what is happening in the grocery stores as people cannot food ford -- food and stuff. the grocery store throw stuff in the dumpster. joe is bringing illegal people crossing the border, killing our kids with fentanyl and all kind of different drugs. why don't you put him to a murder case? instead of dealing with trump, let's deal with the problem we got now, the democrats.

host: next we have sean in columbia, maryland. caller: i do not think that the government -- watching that celebration yesterday and cheering on this inflation reduction and watching the market tank at the same time, it is like toasting on top of the titanic that you had a great trip. you're in trouble. until we take changes in november, i pray to god we are still afloat. thank you for taking my call. host: in georgia, what do you think? caller: good morning. i find it amazing. people call in and talk about the border and people crossing the border and fentanyl. don't they realize the people are surrendering at the border, not crossing it illegally?

they are surrendering to come into this country. then you have a guy call from west virginia saying about the farmers. he did not realize that donald trump put tariffs on the chinese and since the farmers into record bankruptcy. then he turned around and gave them welfare. he did not have a problem with that, but he got a problem with kids getting student loan date payment. he has a problem with that. finally, i find it amazing to see this lady from miami call and say something about people are ignorant. she came from a communist

country. my wife just inherited a house in daytona beach. we stay in georgia, both of us retired. we make just under $90,000 a year. i retired from a job where i make more money retired than the average income in my economy. and the guy complaining about heating oil in maryland. if you're going to complain about the heating oil, look to the companies supplying the heating oil because they have been gouging america for years. have a good day. thank you. host: next, let's hear from nathan in lincoln, nebraska. nathan, you are on. caller: that is because i have to live in the united states and i still have to work here and purchase services and goods. what i do not like is 2.5 months

ago i lost a job because a patron came into a shop i worked at and chucked a bottle and my chin. it took three hours for the police to respond and they want me to pay the taxes that pay their salary. at the same time, i am getting sued by a medical company for a surgical procedure that i needed seven years ago and i am being sued if i do not pay them and i go to jail. host: what are your thoughts on the economy and inflation? caller: i think it is ridiculous that i cannot make more than $15 an hour and yet i have to pay five dollars for a gallon of milk. there is no way for me to eat. if i want to eat, i have to go to a soup kitchen. if i want to pay my bills and still have money to put food in my stomach, i have to go get free food. and i make $25,000 to $30,000 a year. that is average where i come from, so the guy who just said

he made $90,000 a year and he is retired, must be nice to be you. i bet he owns a car. i have not owned a car and 46 years. i have walked or took the bus to every job i have been to and i used to live in california. i am still an optimist. i still believe in this country. i still believe it is the greatest country in the world. my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather foster protect our freedoms and they are being shipped away. i do not necessarily blame joe biden. joe biden is the lesser of two evils. i would have voted for a tuna sandwich over donald trump. if i had better choices closer to my heart, maybe i would be able to back a candidate all the way through. the problem is they give a lot of big promises when they are campaigning and never follow through, like where's our next stimulus check? he said we would get seamless checks and still -- until the

end of covid. covid is not over. i am fine. i got it five times in one month. i had to compartmentalize myself so i did not spread it, but the last time i did it, i had no symptoms, nothing, but i tested positive, so i could have spread it but felt fine. i could have went to work. host: let's go now to martin in lincoln park, wisconsin. you are on. caller: when biden took off his coming he shut down the oil industry because he wanted new electric vehicles, electric stoves, electric everything. that is just not going to happen. it is not realistic. it has to come through at least 50 years of transition. by that time, hopefully we will have a new electric source and

then there is another thing where the agenda of the democrat party is they want government takeover. they want to spend and this is the reason we are in inflation. it does not make sense to the american people when they are out paying all this money for insurance. my insurance just went up. my oil went up. everything has gone up because he wants to shut down the oil industry and make everything electric. it does not make any sense. for all the american people, you need to stop going with what the media says and really take a look at who you are voting for. it does not make any sense. it is just not commonsense. government has no common sense whatsoever. it does not make sense to me. they are more on's -- morons.

host: next we have chris in eugene, oregon. caller: hello. good morning. i was thinking about this. it raced. we are talking about controlling inflation. it was 13.50 inflation rate and a guy named paul vogel came in. he was the fed chairman. he said, this is not working. he raised the rates. i wanted to reach out to you and

say, there is micro and macro when it comes to economics. if you want to actually drive down inflation, you have to raise rates and cool down the economy. host: we are having a hard time hearing you. you are breaking up a little bit. you might want to give us a call back. let's go to sue in florida. go ahead. caller: i believe when we have good leadership and put those people in office that when they take that oath that oath is supposed to stand by the rules and regulations of our constitution and everything in place. when we lose sight of that we have all this chaos and i do not

believe we are supposed to go into office and we can critique some things for the good and unity of all, but when it gets out of order -- we can see what is going around in our world. we need to get people in who when they raise that hand up that means you have to follow the guidelines and rules of our constitution and then we will see a better america. thank you. host: next is anna and connecticut. what are your thoughts? caller: i am calling to say -- concerning the deficit. my main concern has been when we all get the hurricanes and disasters the government comes

forth -- what are you saying? hello? host: we are here. you might want to turn down your tv and go ahead with your thoughts and comments. caller: concerning the disasters that each state gets, that the country gets them a that money comes from somewhere, and i am assuming it does not affect the deficit. every night they have a program on for how the government pays -- can you hear me? i see your lips moving. host: i can hear you. go ahead. caller: i am sorry. it would be nice to have a program on to explain to me where the money for disasters comes from. a lot of people says the government don't do this or that. when they have a disaster or flood or fire, whatever in their state, we look for fema and the government to help them out. i am no president to not do that

, so we thank god we have a person like biden who goes forth and tries to help everybody. no claim for democrats or republicans, everybody. i'm just interested in where the money comes from for disasters. thank you. host: let's take a call from anthony in maryland. what do you think? caller: thank you for having me on. the topic seems interesting and a few things have stood out about inflation and how it is measured and calculated. the numbers the government puts out says around 8.5% and do not match up with things people are paying. i do not really see the government being able to do anything about it. they do not have the leverage.

the only lever they really have is price gaps and the last time something like that was implement it was around world war two, but there is no hint or direction or discussion of anything like that happening. thanks for taking my call. host: i want to show you a couple more tweets. this is from the white house chief of staff. he says 91 days in a row, gas prices down and we are now seeing one in 10 gas stations where the price is at $2.97 or lower. republicans on the financial services committee right, the biden administration continues to mislead the american people despite claiming the mantle of fiscal responsibility. democrat policies will add 4.8 trillion dollars to the deficit

over the next decade in addition to unleashing record inflation. we are taking your calls about whether you have confidence in government ability to address inflation. the number is (202) 748-8000 if you are optimistic. (202) 748-8001 if you are pessimistic. if you are not sure, call usle'n oklahoma city, oklahoma. what do you think? caller: i am really confident about the government's ability. i feel like concepts like the government and the economy are actual constructs we can look from.

i feel like the best thing to do is be optimistic. there is a lot of different classes of people or people that are in certain classes. i think literacy needs to happen nationwide before we start to point at problematic sources and the inability to be able to control the inflation as a whole. i'm not too old. i'm about 30. i am trying to be as optimistic as i can but in the history of my life, i really feel like it is the economy and society's role morgan speak -- more to speak. the government can't necessarily just control the economy.

i don't think they would be able to control any aspect of the economy like inflation and things like that. host: got your point. let's move on to mary in fort washington, maryland. what you think? caller: good morning, c-span. i am very optimistic. biden has been in office for a long time. he knows the ins and outs of politics. i agree with him all the time. i didn't agree with everything like obama did but i certainly loved him. biden is not playing golf right now. number 45 played golf for four years. that ran the economy up right there. biden is not why every five seconds. and the president has not totally responsible for the

economy. the corporations are responsible for what is going on now and we the people know this i am intelligent, very politically intelligent and i know some facts that never come up on the news media because guess what, the media is owned by the corporations that out everything we do. it is up to us, the people. you can call on your politicians like you bought. i would love to see the democrats put up a bill that says now to stockett -- stock exchanges. that would blow them in out for the democrats. they would when everything. like i said i a very optimistic because we are in america and we americans have some common sense not like the people who listen to stocks which is what i seem to have hurdle morning. lucas said, you want the grass

prices -- gas prices to go to? by only certain types of guests. you have to make a life change to go through this. we did it in the past. black people went through jim crow and we made it out of it. we're still going through it right now. but i am hostile mac that -- optimistic. host: let's go to anne in maryland, what are your thoughts? caller: my name is anne, the other, the just got off the line i don't know what mulch is living in but one trump looked the office the economy, the inflation levels was one point something. too much spending is causing all of the inflation. this particular president spends more vacation time than he does

anything and he -- she complains about trump's occasional coughing. the economy is hurting. every time i go to the grocery store, it's ridiculous. my husband and i because we are older now i spent $300 at the grocery store because i like to buy healthy things and i spent way too much at the grocery store just to buy supplies for my husband and myself. when they got into everything they are doing they cut all the oil fields at they want to have us dependent on foreign oil. they want us to be dependent on gas. you have to have carbon to make these batteries. these batteries cost about $15,000. california trying to do this and is almost at a blackout because they're trying to do with these

electric cars and people can't afford it. host: we are going to have to wrap your and move on to our break. president biden is heading to the detroit auto show to push for electric vehicles. we will get a preview with david shepherdson and retired lieutenant general stephen twitty who is the former deputy commander of the european command will assess the latest developments in russia ukraine work. we will be right back. ♪ >> book tv. every sunday on c-span2. features the latest offers discussing their books. 10:00 p.m. on afterwards dallas mavericks ceo shows her memoir even chosen about her life and

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gubernatorial races don't mess of single election moment because you can take us with you on the go was c-span now. and visit c-span.org/campaign2012 82. election coverage on demand. track results from every primary. c-span campaign 20 your unfiltered view of politics. >> "washington journal" continues. host: david shepherdson to insist to discuss president biden's visit to the detroit auto show and his administration's effort to promote electric vehicles in the u.s.. good morning, david. guest: good morning. host: president biden's comments will be carried on c-span networks and platforms later today so folks continue in

around 1:45 p.m. but can you start by giving us a little preview about what brings president biden to the motor city? guest: president biden vos cars. he loves auto shows. he routinely came to the auto shop by himself to make good auto companies and look at new cars. i once saw him with his family as vice president going to the d.c. auto show just for fun. he really likes vehicles. the electric vehicle push at the auto industry has been a central focus of the administration's push towards reducing emissions and meeting climate goals as well as trying to boost u.s. manufacturing. a lot of what he will be talking about is a big jump in the number of battery plants, joint

ventures between auto companies and battery cell and you factures to build those batteries for electric vehicles. i think the message is going to be the vehicles are more expensive but ultimately they see the vehicles as a solution for high gas prices. people to a to go to the gas pump and they can recharge their vehicles for much less. of course they are still more expensive and they are still relatively few for sale outside of tesla. what he is going to see is the detroit companies making billions of dollars in investments to rollout of lot of -- a plot of new versions. the ford f-150 lightning has been on sale for a few months. gm is featuring a new suv that's

going to come out next year. they are making a huge push towards of electric vehicles and i do think you are going to start to see much more dramatic ramp ups in the number of vehicles. he is going to talk about other things. the government's purchase of electric vehicles that calls for ending the sale of the purchase of nearly all not electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. as well as the first $100 million in funding from the infrastructure bill that money is going to go to put those charges in. one issue with electric vehicle adoption is there are not enough ev chargers. it is critical that there are enough turgid capacity and not just in both the areas or people

already have evs. he is going to see a lot of cars. he will see a lot of new models. host: i did see you posted an article just this morning about the $900 million in electric vehicle charging stations on the website this morning. for those watching and listening we do want to get to your calls. what questions do you have for david about electric vehicles or president biden's policies? what comments do you have about the transition from gas powered to electric vehicles? the numbers are for democrats (202) 748-8000. republicans you should call (202) 748-8001. independents doyle (202)

748-8002. you can start calling you can start calling in now and we will get to you in just a few moments. i just want to ask you can you tackle little bit about how the big three automakers, how are they transitioning their business models to adapt to this future with electric and hybrid vehicles? guest: it is a really challenging time for the auto companies. the good and bad stories, congress in august past of the inflation reduction act which provides auto companies with tens of billions of dollars in tax credits, grants, low-cost lung programs to make the transition to retool the plants that are building gasoline engines. to make the new electric vehicles. that is the upside. the more difficult part is the

new or expanded tax credits up to $7,500 for new vehicles that were adopted by the law. the law -- the problem is it makes all vehicles assembled and eligible. so you have hyundai and kia and volkswagen have lost these credits they were getting for electric vehicle sales. a lot of vehicles and this is something the president will talk about, the production is moving to the u.s. or north america which makes them eligible for the credits. however there are other restrictions in terms of battery components, critical minerals that are designed to shift the u.s. supply chain away from china and other countries. that is a real challenge for the

auto companies. in the short term it's possible almost no vehicles qualify for the $7,500 tax credit but there is a new used tax credit that will begin next year for people buying those cars from dealers. companies are, you need to manage that to build buttery plants which cost, each of them at least $2 billion apiece. plus retool the factories to build ev so it is very challenging. at the same time, they are facing challenging mandates. in california, the sale of gasoline powered only cars means you have to have a plug-in hybrid model by 2035 or a full electric vehicle. as well as the federal government is in the process of

setting stricter emissions standards for the next few years. it will put pressure on companies to continue to improve the efficiency of gasoline models. host: let's take some of your calls now. i can democrats (202) 748-8000. republicans (202) 748-8001 and independents (202) 748-8002. first up is derek in pennsylvania. your thoughts? caller: hello. my concern is with the supply of lithium needed for the batteries. from what i understand there is only one source in the united states. the rest of it is mind in foreign countries because it requires a strict mining and

material once it is extracted from the earth, that is my comment. host: can you address that question about lithium? guest: there is no question that critical minerals, lithium, it is a big focus of the administration and senator joe manchin who but the provisions in the bill to incentivize the u.s. production and the production of critical minerals in countries where u.s. had a free-trade agreement. that is a concern, a significant concern. there is a big push to try to boost u.s. mining of those minerals to rely more on u.s. allies like canada which is doing significant mining as well. but no question, there is a lot of grappling with the environmental impact. batteries are zero emission.

there is a significant amount of emissions to produce the batteries. then to actually get the electricity from the grid. onslaught of how environmentally friendly ev is, is the source of electricity being used to recharge the vehicle. the grid is largely coal fire. that is going to have a much higher emissions profile. host: let's go to kevin in clearwater, florida. caller: good morning. i, david. question i have is can you tell the american people the crush test rating of every one of the electric vehicles out there currently and what do they have to do to come to the same standards? thank you.

guest: the two sources you can go to, certainly mensa.gov the report crush test ratings. they have to meet the same requirements. the insurance institute and the highway safety is another really good source of information. they do testing of vehicles that are sometimes tougher than what the government does. you do raise a good point. some states, electric vehicles are much heavier than the comparable gas powered vehicle because they are carrying around a very large battery pack. there have been some concerns that in a frontal crash that the heavier electric vehicle could pose higher safety risks to the occupants of the other vehicles. that said, all of these vehicles

have to meet government crash tests. they all have the same five-star rating through the government's program, ratings program. so there is no question they are all going to meet the standards but i do think there is going to be more interest in more scrutiny of those battery packs. i want to point out that we hit the first three months of this year a 20 your hyper vehicles fatalities for the first quarter of the year since the covid pandemic. people were speeding, they were not wearing seatbelts, they were driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. this is really a crisis on american roads that we have seen such a dramatic spike in traffic

deaths. we have seen no indication that those numbers are going in the right direction. host: again that's nhtsa.gov let's talk now to roger in forest city, iowa. caller: good morning. i grew up in iowa where we make motorhomes. in winter of 78, 79 we had a man come to our school and gas prices were $.66 a gallon. and he told us with his technology he could produce hydrogen for a nickel for any equivalency of hydrogen. that year, that winter they were supposed to start changing the power center over to hydrogen.

executives flew into town and everything was shut down. we never heard another word about hydrogen again. can you talk a little bit about that? guest: there is a lot of interest in hydrogen especially, some foreign auto companies. general motors has spent decades working on hydrogen fuel cells. there are two problems that remain. that seems far more expensive than the equivalent of an electric vehicle. the second problem has been the lack of refueling infrastructure. to build the infrastructure, to build the stations themselves. the production of hydrogen needs to be done in an environmentally friendly way.

there is a lot of attention on fuel cells if you look at what the president sows. if you look at the website today the white house talks about electric vehicles they talk about hydrogen fuel cells. the only byproduct is water from the combustion of hydrogen. i think a lot of the focus shifted from hydrogen because they're saying at least in the shorter-term it is a more quickly adoptable solution. but there is no question, there is still hundreds of i hydrogen vehicles being driven around, california especially. a lot of people believe ultimately that is the best solution to addressing transportation emissions. part of the solution, california sees it as well but it is really unclear how quickly it's going

to take to get significant numbers of vehicles in charge. host: let's hear from harry in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. you are on. caller: thank you, i have a couple things. i watched the series. it was the process to change oil and take us. ford and the other companies built their own cars. they did not do taxpayers money. and now we have this, you know, that's 30 years away. right now, i'd rather have a gaspar. who could afford an electric car nowadays with all the damage biden did to the country? this is ridiculous. everybody knows, somewhere there is a like -- young child that's

30 years away. we paid $9 billion for that company and it closed the taxpayers lost their money. people behind it. there is nothing in this country that is making sense. host: dave, can you respond specifically to the portability issue? because we hear that a lot. guest: absolutely and it is a big republican talking point that electric vehicles are expensive and they are to an extent. they would say you got a $7,500 tax credit if you have general motors which already has around $30,000 electric cars is introducing another suv that

will also be in the same price point of $30,000. will the tax credit be significantly less? there is no question which vehicles our incentive. people view electric vehicles only, tesla obviously dell dominates -- still dominates. battery prices have to come down. it has reduced the prices of electric vehicles but the administration the are working on the affordability issue and they are focusing on the total cost of ownership not just the sticker price but what are you going to pay in gas, oil changes, to operate the electric

versus gas model. doesn't require you to fill up with the gas. that is a big focus and i think the argument might be a little easier when the auto companies start rolling out higher volumes of those lower cost electric vehicles. a lot of vehicles we were talking about whether it is the hummer or tesla, by and large those vehicles are much higher than the average transaction price of a vehicle today. host: was good to paul in arizona. what are your comments? caller: i would like to ask the gentleman if he has that any research on the batteries. i understand there is a company

in texas that is looking for money and they say that the imp batteries would be better than the lithium battery. i just wanted to know if he knew anything about it. guest: i am not familiar with that chemistry battery but there is a lot of different battery chemistries that are being looked at today it is not just lithium-ion. there is a lot of energy research being done on battery back here in detroit. there is a huge battery conference with hundreds of companies. there is so much money and intention that, you know, we can definitely end up with a totally different battery chemistry that ends up winning out. just in the last few months we have seen battery plants.

some are in the u.s. there is negotiations. the going to need to billion dollars to meet these very aggressive electric vehicle production targets. for announced the huge investment in batteries in tennessee and kentucky. honda is building and a battery. so there is an enormous amount of investment in this sector and you are going to see in the next couple of years just this very big volume of vehicles. the battery manufacturers have invested so much money and you are going to start to see a lot more vehicles.

host: let's go to john iles -- john in arizona. what do you think, john? you might want to turn your tv down and you are on. caller: about, ok. i have a previous and it is a hybrid. it gets 13 miles a gallon. on a previous, the raised mai tai, the little sticker you get to $100 more for the license plate. this is they are going to get margo's text money that way. is it true every state is going to raise the price on your hybrid?

a friend of mine has an electric and he pays $200 more on his license sticker. if you can answer that question, is that how is going to collect more money? host: dave? guest: that is a great question. and you are right. a lot of states, not everybody, has proposed higher license plate or annual yearly fees. call them taxes because that's what they are. for cars that are far more efficient because of the need to raise money to fix and repair roads. the gas tax has not kept up with the needs, repair needs. for most states, in fact even before the infrastructure bill the last 10 years congress has

added well over $1 billion into the highway trust fund because there is no political will to raise the gas tax which has remained at 18 poor for sensor gallants -- 18.4 cents per gallon. the argument that the advocates of those higher fees is that electric vehicles should have to pay their fair share of the taxes because they are not paying at the pump. the few cents a gallon every time they fill up. the long term benefit, how to fund repair.

will the government find out how much you drive per year and come up with the fee? is there a fee on the traditionally powered models? the reality is congress has thrown up his hands and said we're just going to find the money elsewhere. they are really, the long-term requirement erodes be maintained through fees has gone away. the administration is going to show the interest in doing anything that would be perceived supporting the gas tax hike or new fees on electric vehicles. i think when the next bill gets reauthorized there will be more discussions but this is a problem that is not going away because vehicles are getting more and for more efficient.

there is going to be less money going to the federal highway trust fund. there is going to have to be some solution to figuring that out. congress is not going to want to write a check every year. host: let's hear from robert in lynnhaven, florida. caller: i have a couple of questions, how long do the batteries last and what does it cost to replace them and what are you going to do with the old batteries? guest: those are all great questions. interestingly, california, i referenced earlier they moved to mandate gasoline to and there is a pretty aggressive warranty program. a lot of the auto companies think it might be too aggressive. about 10 years, 100,000 miles, i

can't remember. much higher warranty than a typical car would have or even for your, 40,000 mile warranty or five years or something like that. so much tougher and you're right. we still don't know precisely because, if you have -- we don't know how long the batteries are going to last. the u.s. does have a pretty good battery recycling record. the battery now in your car that is used to power electronic systems, those batteries have a high recycling rate and batteries that are even removed from tv --evs on the road. people who have had had to get electric vehicles it can be expensive. it can cost thousands of dollars to replace so that is a

significant concern but it is one that california recognizes. they want to ease people's concerns about that by requiring very long battery warranties. host: next up is deborah in jamaica, new york. caller: good morning to you. putting aside the cost of purchasing i have three questions i hope you can answer. while the federal government in any way regulate electrically? because that kind of condemns -- gives them free reign to charge whatever they want. the second thing i noticed that the cost of charging an ev and it's not being addressed. it's hard to find the

information when you go to the internet. and the third thing is i'm not sure if people are aware that at the charging station the cost of charging will vary depending upon what level of charge you want. if you want to have your charge, your car charged quicker you will be paying a higher rate for that electricity. as opposed to a lower rate. those are my three questions that i have and i think you so much for taking my call. guest: all great questions. on the electricity rate question, all states regulate the electric utilities, you know , great commissions. certainly from the state standpoint the regulations on cost of electricity but you are right. there are a lot of questions surrounding ev charging. first of all there are transparency requirements that the government is imposing on the state including telling

people how much is going to cost , you know, not to be part of a club you use those chargers and to be transparent about how much it costs. there are other issues, what happens when a utility is actually surging directly versus full sale of electricity to a gas station or some other entity that is providing the charging. so there is no question. you can see the cassation station they are charging this amount or that amount. we don't have that for the charging stations to save this is how much is going to charge per kilowatt hour. i would really expect that was

the money rolls out to the states that act, the more up those competition. we are going to see more, it's kind of a market impact on what the prices on other ev chargers are charging. you are actually right. the market needs more transparency to be easier to buy charges and make sure you don't have to go to wait to get your car charged if you are trying to get home to grandma's house. host: those talk to anne in clinton, alabama. caller: there are a lot of disabled folks that it around on older vehicles and a troll less than $800 a month. it's hard enough to make the bills. i just would like to see her -- here are some solutions on how the disabled folks that have a little bit of independence to

get around to go to the doctor, go get their groceries, and go pay their bills. how we can make a solution for us because there is no way we can afford a car like that much less maintain it. so over just like information on that. how is the government supposed to help? right now, i have an older vehicle that gets me from point a to have to be. i got over of them for i have to go. that's all the places i go. that's it. so i would like to know how the government is going to help the people that only make $800 a month. host: got your point. go ahead, dave. guest: great question. first of all, let's talk about the affordability of new cars in

general. setting aside set of large vehicles we have had for the last two years the shortage of semi conductor chips. so we have seen auto companies forced to halt production because they didn't have enough chips. the bill should revive building. it took a long time to get the bill. the price of a new card today is will over $40,000 and there is very limited availability or at least her husband. recently. even if you are not going out to buy the electric vehicle people were holding on to used cars longer that that there were fewer used cars for sale we saw a record high prices for used cars which made it much harder for people with lower incomes to build a -- it's been a really

tough time for auto consumers trying to buy vehicles. they really had to pay a lot of money. i usually, people have paid well over sticker price for the last couple of years. we are just starting to see the trends going in the other direction but still the thing. one of the new things is a $4000 credit. we hope you will buy a used electric vehicle for use -- less money than a new car. the total cost of ownership we talked about is very expensive to maintain the coverage. electric cars are much simpler than a gasoline powered vehicle. it generally requires much less regular maintenance.

you don't have to go to the gas station, look at the total cost of ownership let's help you with the tax credit hideaway to a vehicle that is going to save you in all public money even if the upfront policy might be a little higher. host: we are taking your calls today as we speak with david shepherdson. he is talking about all electric vehicles and president biden talked today at the detroit auto show. democrats you can call (202) 748-8000. republicans dial (202) 748-8001. independents your number is (202) 748-8002. next up is larry in rochester. caller: good morning. good morning steve. i live appear i had a deck

business for 40 years that i didn't make a lot of money. i'll live in an allergy efficient how i am off great -- grid. i have lithium, for storage that run my house perfectly well. all four seasons and i didn't pick a lot of money. it is all about the mind it's like what do you want to do? i do what i took -- i talk to people about solar and powering your car all the time and everybody looks at me and says i we can't afford that. we need government subsidies, we need all this help for everything. i get missed because how could i do it? i worked and i decided that i

wanted to live this type of life. i don't live in a little hole in the ground. i have a very efficient hundred 50 square-foot house. my next project is ongoing to save and i want to get an electric car. we decided we would wait until the newvolk came out. as for getting fees prepaying for the roads, if you go to a charging station there is a fee built-in. what's wrong with that? is just like the gas tax. i can go on for a long time but i think a lot of people are just like, they love their gas cars at that's all there is to it. the world is changing. i would like to heat my house,

make my electrolysis and store it in a tank. and get rid of my propane. host: we got your point, thanks. was good to paul in shreveport, louisiana. caller: good morning, david, how are you doing? guest: good. caller: my question is about the affordability of electric vehicles. i usually get a used truck would you buy a used electric vehicle? guest: if you are going to buy the vehicle from a dealer or private honor is going to have a warranty and i would make sure you buy that. it is a big purchase, the second largest purchase of people make. i would say the battery technology is getting so much better and the cost has come

down dramatically. there is so much energy competitive research a push on making these batteries better. like the caller said there is a lot of energy towards reducing emissions and people relieve you electric vehicles to get away from having to buy gas, go to the gas pump. i think everyone is in the impact of gas prices. it is still not as easy, there are gas stations everywhere. close to 180,000 in america today. it is a genuine thing. and my going to be allowed to recharge and find a place? you have listen to the auto company and the administration. like yourself on we have all learned how to deal with self on charging and finding places and i really think we are going to

get to a critical mass in the next couple of years where as more people get into electric vehicles and they experience them we are going to see kind of a hockey stick of demand curve of people buyingevs. the used electric truck, just make sure you have a warranty in order to be able to use it like you want to and to get things you need to do. host: that is going to wrap up our discussion today with david shepherdson. the queue so much for joining us this morning. guest: thinks, i really enjoyed it. host: we have retired lieutenant general stephen twitty. he will discuss the latest developments in the russia,

ukraine war. we will be right back. ♪ >> c-span now is a free -- mobile app. live and on-demand. keep up with the day's biggest events with hearings from the u.s. congress, white house events, courts, campaigns and more. all let your fingertips. it will help you stay current with episodes of "washington journal". plus a variety of podcasts. available on the apple store and google play. deliver free today. your front row seat to washington anytime, anywhere. >> american history tv saturdays

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morning to discuss the latest developments in the russia, ukraine war. good morning. guest: good morning, about to be with you this morning host: thank you for joining us. i want to start off by getting your thoughts on the counter of business that week we have been hearing about. president zelenskyy says the ukrainian forces have taken more than 2400 square miles this month a lot. what do you make of that mountaintop and how significant is it? guest: the momentum is significant. 3000 kilometers over the last couple of days the ukrainians have been able to do this for a couple of reasons. number one, the u.s. on the western weapons we have put in their have made a tremendous difference. the ukrainians have been able to protect the supply lines, the

command and control on and on. the other things that made it tremendous differences the element of surprise. there was a major counter attack and they came back and attacked in the east. the russians moved troops over to the south to reinforce that area because of that announcement and left a huge gorge is that the is we cannot discount the courage of these young soldiers that are fighting this war has been pretty impressive to watch. renee, dutch we want to hear from our viewers or questions and comments do you have about the russia ukraine conflict? we have numbers for you. democrats dial (202) 748-8000. republican style -- dial (202) 748-8001.

and independents (202) 748-8002. if you are an active are former member of the military we want you to dial (202) 748-8003. let's listen in the white house national security council strategic communications coordinator john kirby. he was asked at yesterday's briefing if recent ukrainian successes were a turning point in the war. let's hear from him. [video clip] >> i think what you are seeing is a shift in momentum by the ukrainian armed forces particularly in the north. we have been talking about this for quite some days now the long planned counteroffensive. you have what i need to -- the north and one in the south. we have been watching closely and the events in the north are

more genetic than what we have seen in the south. i would let president zelenskyy determine a decide whether he feels militarily they have reached a turning point. clearly there is a sense of momentum here so what we are going to do is get support as best we can. >> awarded the russians doing? >> i will be careful not to speak for a foreign military but certainly in the interim work we have seen russians evacuate, withdraw, retreat from the pit defensive positions particularly in and around he lost. they have left funny positions and supplies they are calling it a repositioning but they have withdrawn in the face of

ukrainian armed forces that are clearly on the offense. but, obviously these are dramatic events we are watching and or is unpredictable. we will watch as closely as we can but ukrainian armed forces should speak to the progress the making. host: do you agree with that assessment? guest: i absolutely do and what i would add to that as we must remember that the russians have lost approximately 80,000. they have taken a significant blow. the other thing we must remember is the russians really do not know what they're fighting for. this has been dubbed as a special operation by president putin and when you call it a special operation and not wattages which is more, the troops do not know what they are fighting for.

you heard concern about his oceans and so forth they have no will to fight because they don't know what they are fighting for. host: we are going to open the phone lines again. again democrats call (202) 748-8000. republicans (202) 748-8001. independents (202) 748-8002. and active and former military dial (202) 748-8003. we will start with caleb in texas. where do your thoughts? i would like to see more international monetary fund go and to ukraine. we need to help them with roads, give them some caterpillar tractors for their corn and there we android to help ukraine -- ukraine so the dollar for dollar up with the european

market they are going to need a lot of agriculture and a lot of -- supplies. the iaea has got over there and said these guys have a lot of water capacity at think we need to help them put that. the eee. as a south he is finished somewhere we saw on the retreat are useful started realizing there was a potential. i can't even believe that we, as a country are looking at the potential of ukraine and people like to adopt the ukraine. come over to america. it is about time that we show our support virtually and financially. i like everything that i see and i would like to see a lot more cooperation i can see can say.

i say keep up the good work. host: you left a native contribution so far what has made the difference and what more is needed? guest: absolutely on has made the difference is the weapon systems from our western allies to include, obviously, the united states. you hear a lot of talk about the high mars that is the weapon system that has been able to expand the distance in which ukrainians can touch the russians. you hear me talk about the logistics, the communications, their artillery, their sensors, the readers. all that, the ukrainians can hit in addition to the high mars we put several drones in their. the reader and sensors that

allow the ukrainians to gather more intel on russian physicians so all these things have made a difference. you heard the gentleman talk about reconstruction efforts that is on the way. you have to start with a stable country first and once stability starts to happen i think you will find that the international community will brought their arms around you crying as cert to weld back their economy and their military. and other things that are needed. a makeup -- host: back to the phone line. i want to show this map to visualize the change of the left is what russian occupation which is the red and the purple is what was held or regrade -- regained by ukraine.

september 12, showing the substantial increase in that circle. of course, offset by the decrease. the red is russian military control. that is in eastern ukraine. that let's go now to in idaho. what are your thoughts? i'm caller: good morning journal, can you hear me? host: yes, we can hear you. caller: i have a real simple mathematical equation for you -- equation for you. do we have any idea who his

successor will be? will it be more of a peacekeeper than what putin is? it is a simple idea, general. thank you so much for your time, and i wait for your response. guest: rick, thank you so much for your service. when it comes to putin, we have no idea of his health. he seems to be a healthy person. you have seen pictures of him doing physical activity and so forth. we have no clue of his exact health. your second question on his successor, i have no idea. that is going to have to come from within inside the russians. we are already starting to see some pressure from the russian populace as well as from within his administration pushing back

on this war. we could start to see this political pressure start to have an uprising in russia and he is forced to either resign or be impeached or so forth. we will just have to wait. we are starting to see that pressure now. many of these family members are starting to see their loved ones come home in coffins, starting to see them come home badly wounded. i think this is going to continue. host: anthony instant centereach , new york, another retired military. what do you think? let's bring up, instead of anthony, let's go to andre in hyattsville, maryland. andre, what are your thoughts? caller: to the general, what

about for the international community to see the effects of the conflict to rebuild ukraine? the other countries, france the united states, they have to bear the responsibility by themselves. the international community should do something to rebuild ukraine. that is what i think. what does it take? host: general on rebuilding ukraine. i know you suggested earlier. what is the international community will be able to come together on this effort the way they have in the military offense? guest: i do believe so. most of that primarily will be led by the european union.

i think the international community, the majority, they have been behind this war in ukraine and the democratic principles and so forth. and they supported them with weapons and so far -- and so forth. there is a war going on inside ukraine right now. to pour a lot of money and effort into reconstruction at this point may not be the best route to grow -- the best route to go. once we come to a position where we understand where this war is headed, i think the international community will wrap their arms around ukraine and they will not only build back infrastructure, but they will also assist in building back the military and other critical things needed. you can start to hear many of the nations pledge that once this war gets to a point of

stability, pledge their money towards the reconstruction efforts. host: now let's go to anthony in centereach, new york. anthony, you are on. caller: thank you, c-span for taking my call. good morning general twitty, thank you for your service. are there any accurate statistics about detections from the russian army and navy at this time? guest: thank you for your service as well. i have friends in browning, ukraine. an open source, you're hearing reports of desertions within the russian army as well. of late, we have heard much about the defections coming from

the east based on this counter attack occurred in the east and the north here. i think the russian soldiers, you have got to remember, at the beginning of this war when they tried to take kyiv, we really saw that the russian soldiers, he was untrained, he was undisciplined, he didn't know quite what to do in terms of fighting. and so you start to see that play out as we continue in the donbass area, and down in the south. where you have soldiers that don't know what they are fighting for. they are untrained, undisciplined. you are going to start to see more of the soldiers dessert the rank and really think about what it is that they are doing in ukraine. i think they are starting to come to their senses. we will see how this plays out. but we must remember, also, the

russians still have a lot of capability. they have not called a draft to continue to support this military. that may be next as well. at this point, i think you will start to see more desertions. host: we brought up another map from the bbc that shows the entire country of the ukraine, showing that there is still a lot of russian military control in the donbass region and in southern ukraine, the crimea region that was taken years ago. but it shows that purple is the recent gain ukraine to push back on those russian advances. let's take more of your calls. democrats dial, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001.

independents, (202) 748-8002. and active military, (202) 748-8003. next we have marine in owen's, --. caller: ukraine has been occupied and subjugated by russia for centuries and knows only too well what kind of a neighbor it has. the western oligarchs have been accepting billions of dollars from the russians i hope they

now realize what they are set -- what they are accepting is blood money. for those who think it is a waste of money to arm ukraine, this has been spoken quietly in russia but now has come out in billboards. and it says alaska mash, it means alaska is ours. thank you for the, -- thank you for the opportunity to comment. host: in abilene, texas. caller: good morning. it is a pleasure to speak with the general. i am a retired military pilot. my question is, would it not be prudent to hang -- would it not be putin to hang a --?

comments please. guest: thanks for your service. when you think about this war, from a nato perspective, what we don't want to do is turn this war into world war iii. nato is ensuring this doesn't turn out to be world war iii. when you start taking crew missiles and all the other weapons from our nato countries to fire into russia, then you are inviting yourself into what could be an expanded war.

let's contain it between russia and the ukrainian threat now. ukraine seems to be doing a pretty good job at this point. i would not advise other countries to fire cruise missiles. then you are talking about expanding this war and i don't think that is where we want to go. host: jeff into lavista, california. what are your thoughts? caller: i am curious what they think they are going to win by supplying ukraine all this power. russia didn't destroy that whole area they just got back. not to mention, power. they are going to take out that nuclear power plant. what is going to happen in the winter? they're going to destroy ukraine with bombs and weapons that we gave them. there is no power in the area. what is going to happen to europe? remember all the germans laughed at president trump about power and they said you are going to be under putin's thumb. now what is going to happen to not only germany but the rest of

europe in the winter time? all you have to do is let them freeze to death in the winter and let all of us starve to death across the world. host: general twitty, talk about the upcoming winter month and if it presents challenges to ukraine's defense, as well as other points raised by the caller. guest: sure. i will talk about the military aspect first. the winter will make a difference in this fight. there are harsh winters in europe. you're going to find things such as track vehicles, wheel vehicles, they are fighting murder -- they are fighting mostly inspires land, farmland. not well improved roads. being able to find where you can do widespread maneuver, that will start to come to a halt and they will be regulated to areas that are not flooded and things

of that nature. so the weather is going to make a difference in this fight. it is good that the ukrainians, they picked up their momentum now because they can really set them up, set themselves up in a position of stress as the winter passes and they go into spring with this fight. in my view, this war is going to go on for quite some time. now let's talk about what the gentleman said about the oil in terms of going into europe. the nord stream 2 pipeline. there is no doubt that the resolve of the europeans will be tested this winter. perhaps putin using oil and cutting off oil and fuel, we may see that resolve being tested.

i think first and foremost, people need to understand that the two largest countries in europe, russia and ukraine. so this war absolutely has an impact on the european countries. as we go into the winter months and this resolve is tested, the big thing that all of us must understand, we have got the two largest countries in the world that are fighting. that could perhaps produce instability on an entire european country. we have to stick together and stabilize to get back to where they can enjoy their democratic freedoms and push russia out of the country eventually.

there is an article the washington post put out earlier this week. headline says white house alarm rises over europe as putin threatens energy supply. the article begins by saying "white house officials are growing increasingly alarmed about europe's energy crisis and russian president vladimir putin's threat to force a bleak winter on the continent. seeking to punish russia for the invasion of ukraine, western allies have moved to -- what has been paid for russian oil. this could devastate u.s. economy and hurt united states by sending global energy prices soaring." that is something that could not only affect europe but even the united states this winter. let's go to more of your calls.

we have ian in great falls, virginia. ian, you are on. caller: thank you, general for being here for the call. my question is, how much ownership does the united states have of this conflict and how much responsibility does the current administration or any american administration have on the outcome of the conflict? from the outside, it is a russia, ukraine conflict, but the understanding would be there is heavy support from the united states and allies. but that may not be widely understood. can you speak of that in terms of the contrast to scrutiny in regard to the afghanistan exit. thank you. host: go ahead, general.

guest: the general used the word ownership. i want to remind everyone that we are our nato, 30 countries, soon to be 32. as for nato, we have a responsibility to our nato partners. 30, nato, the alliance, so to speak. ukraine is not a part of nato. they are considered what is a part of nato -- a partner in nato. a partner in a, there are certain things we have been able to help them with. one of which i was able to help throughout my military career is military training. and so it is not ownership that obligates in being a part of nato. ensuring there is a stable unit, there is a europe -- there is a

unit that can -- there is a europe that can prosper. you can take this back to world war ii. we invested a lot of money in europe to ensure that europe could prosper after world war ii. also ensured that europe could really form democratic principles. so all that investment, you can see today when you go over there. you see a continent of prosperity. the u.s. best interest is to continue a europe that can prosper, that can continue its democratic principles. and so that is the ownership, the impassable ownership i would say. and the reason why we are supporting ukraine the way we are supporting them. again -- host: again, we are

chatting again with retired lt. general stephen twitty. we are talking about the ukraine war. we want to hear your questions and your comments. , kratz dial, -- democrats dial (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. military, (202) 748-8003. caller: hello, general. thanks for the opportunity to rest -- thanks for the opportunity to speak. this was quite a time ago, but that time there was still the influential time at that time in

most of eastern europe. i don't know anything about the military capability. i noticed recently that two countries had indicated -- power. i wonder how the totality of the nato forces, do they act as a force against invading russia?

was it because of the migration of all of these countries into the west and what is precipitated -- what is reciprocated right now. those are both of my questions. i appreciate your input. guest: thanks for that question. you have nine countries in nato that used to be a part of the soviet union. the great thing about democracies, democracies get to choose who they want to align with. they all met the nato standards and were invited into nato and they are in nato now. those nine countries, they are well trained, they are well led. i spent a lot of time in the former soviet countries that are now nato countries. and they have made a difference to complementing not only the

combat power in a, but everything else. whether it be exercises they are deployed on, whether it be the economy has been able to grow as part of nato, and some of these countries are part of the european union. putin has looked at this and in his mind, he thinks nato and perhaps the european union, that they encroached too much to the east. if you look at some of these countries, you talk about the countries in the baltic states. you take a look at you stony, lil wayne he a, latvia, and then you go down to poland. all these countries here joined nato and they have borders with russia. so that has been a concern.

maybe one of the reasons that this war is the way it is today is because he sees this encroachment in his mind, and he is feeling the pressure and he is feeling the pressure of being surrounded. so who knows? we talked about this somewhat. this nato alliance, the intent of it is not to cause other country borders -- is not to cross other country borders and initiate an attack like he did. it is to focus on peace and security of the european continent. and, oh, by the way, russia was joined -- russia was invited to join this alliance at some point. but they did not accept invitation into nato during that timeframe. host: i want to bring up a tweet we received from steve. it is directed to you, you --

directed to you, lieutenant general. it says, can he be more specific? usa,/nato will lose patience in a stalemate in the aid won't flow forever. can you expand on that, general twitty? guest: yes, i can. as we sit here today, you can see this plan out. -- you can see this playing out. the next day you -- one day you wake up, the russians have made gains, and then the next day, you wake up and ukraine has made gains on the battlefield. when you go back and you think, i am going to take you real quickly on how american doctrine, how we operate on war. when you go on the offense, you are an american soldier, american unit, you want to have significant combat power over

your enemy. to be able to overwhelm your enemy and really destroy that enemy so you can transition the piece. in the case here, when the russians invaded ukraine, they have somewhere in the neighborhood around 50,000 soldiers. there is combat equipment that goes along with it. putin has not called up a draft. he has caused a significant amount of input in this war. there is back-and-forth fighting that is occurring. if we continue at this point

with the back-and-forth, you can see this going on for months, for years. because it is sort of like a boxing match. who is going to eventually win? let's is going to come to the position of stress. i believe this war will not be won militarily. at some point, one of these countries have to be in position of strength on the battlefield to be able to go to the negotiating table with leverage. and so we will just have to see how this plays out. but i don't think this war is going to be over. host: this tweet comes from diana strong. she says with increasingly less aid for ukrainians, what do you think will happen to support for ukrainians if republicans take the house? she is talking about the u.s. house of representatives. guest: first of all, i don't

know. i am apolitical when it comes to discussions about democrats, independents or republicans. what i will say, i have the sense that the u.s. will continue its resolve with the ukrainians. you are hearing both sides talk about the continuing resolve to support military equipment -- the support of military equipment. so we can continue the prosperity and stability, not just to ukraine, but in europe. america has invested a lot of money. both money and blood and treasure in europe. no matter who takes the house or

senate's, or who is the president, will continue supporting our ukrainian partners. host: let's talk now to jane and overall, missouri. -- jane in aurora, missouri. jane, your thoughts? caller: the reason why they beat russia -- the reason why they speak russian, russia overtook them and took all their history books. all their schoolbooks and made them speak russian. that is why they speak russian. because actually, lithuania dates back to 1005 years old, when they were a country.

russia took them, that is why they speak russian. that is all i have to say. host: let's also hear from steve in colorado sparing -- colorado springs. caller: i have a comment about our involvement in ukraine. the ironic thing is, democrats can say whatever they want about donald trump, but the thing is, putin didn't attacked ukraine while trump was in office. i strongly believe he would have negotiated some kind of deal before he went into ukraine. hindsight being 2020, we cannot say for sure he would negotiate a deal, but that is the kind of mindset trump had. to negotiate the best deal for the united states.

so the bottom line is, during world war ii, before pearl harbor, we were involved in world war ii. we were supplying armaments to the british and we were supplying our own fighter pilots fighting alongside the british. so whether or not the biden administration wants to admit we were -- admit we are involved in a war, we are in war and it is biden's fault. we are spending billions of dollars. and i am not saying we shouldn't commit what we are -- we shouldn't complete what we are involved in, --. host: let's move on to randy. your comments or questions? caller: thank you for your service.

u.s. air force veteran here. we have about the international committee. let's call it what it is, the united nations. can you give me your perspective, sir, the united nations, both of these countries are u.n. charter members. why is the united nations not going in with troops, kick russia out of ukraine, maintain the border with ukraine and russia and stop this insanity? thank you, sir. guest: thank you for your service. we must remember, the united nations don't own any troops. what they have is contributing nations that are willing to provide a peace force in certain countries. and it is either going to be a peace enforcement mission or a

peacekeeping mission. and so because these two countries are at war, it would have to be a peace enforcement mission in order to stop the conflict. and so you have countries out there, i don't think at this point, that would sign up for peace enforcement. that would expand this war to other countries. that is the reason why i think the you in -- the un will not contribute any efforts to this war. that is where we are lacking in this war effort at this point. this war has gone on for almost seven months now and we still have not seen a huge lift when it comes to trying to meet a

diplomatic into this war. that is where the u.n. could help out. host: we have been talking this morning with retired lt. general stephen twitty. we have been talking about the latest developments with the russian, ukrainian war. thank you so much for joining us this morning, general twitty. guest: thank you. good to be with you. host: after the break we will be taking more of your phone calls on the issue of inflation. you can start calling in now and we will be right back. >> book tv every sunday on c-span two features leading authors of the latest nonfiction books. at 8:00 p.m. eastern, john o'neill -- talk about the soviet

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it is your time to shine. you are invited to participate in this year's c-span studentcam documentary competition. in light of the midterm election, picture yourself as a newly make -- a newly elected member of congress. what is your top priority and why? make a five to six minute video that shows the importance of your vision for a supportive and opposing view. $5,000 grand prize. videos must be submitted by january 20 2023. visit our website at studentcam.org. tips, resources and a step-by-step guide. >> washington journal continues. host: president joe biden held a celebration at the white house tuesday to celebrate passage of the health care costs, climate

change and tax bill known as the inflation reduction act. but it occurred on the same day that government reports were released showing inflation in august remained at record high levels. our question to you this morning is, are you feeling optimistic or pessimistic about government's ability to control inflation? we want you to call us. democrats, your line is (202) 748-8000. republicans, -- i'm sorry, if you are optimistic, (202) 748-8000. pessimistic, (202) 748-8001. and if you're not sure, (202) 748-8002. again that is optimistic, pessimistic, not sure. before we get to your calls,

let's hear from took schumer. he spoke yesterday on why he thinks passage of the inflation reduction act will resonate with voters this fall. >> when the inflation reduction act passed the senate over a little -- a little over a month ago, i signals this would signal a turning point to meet our climate -- meet our climate challenges, cheaper, cleaner energy. now a month later the good news is already pouring in. companies have announced billions and billions of dollars in new investments here in america to start manufacturing batteries and afford electric and hybrid vehicles. good policy is also good politics. when you pass good legislation, you get good results. it has been a long time since the american people felt washington was doing big

challenges. we are promoting the bills we passed. it is clear the bills passed by this democratic led senate will drive america forward. new jobs, good paying jobs, jobs with a future. not a job that you think after five years will be eliminated. it is going to grow. it is a new sunshine and don on america. -- dawn on america. host: we also heard from senate -- john thune. he spoke --. >> i want to remind people when president biden took office, inflation was 1.4%. they may be taking a victory lap at the white house, but the american people are not. they are feeling the direct impact of this every single day. this report also shows the price

of food, groceries has gone up 13.5 percent. the highest rate increase since 1999, i was a senior in high school. these numbers are staggering. and the white house seems to be in absolute denial of what impact this is having on the american people and their budgets. host: now let's turn to this morning's wall street journal front page with the headlines -- new report shows fueling and tightening campaigns. it starts out saying u.s. consumer prices increase shockingly from july after

excluding food and energy prices, showing inflation staying strong and stubborn even though the increase was slightly slower. on the right, you see the results of those worried about the inflation report. it says the s&p 500 suffered the worst day in over two years as investors reconsider the right outlook. this article starts, stocks suffered their worst day in over two years. inflation data, -- inflation hopes -- -- investors hopes -- its campaign of interest rates increases. we are talking to you today about whether you are optimistic or pessimistic about the federal government's ability to control

inflation. if you are optimistic, dial (202) 748-8000. if you're pessimistic, (202) 748-8001. if you're not sure, (202) 748-8002. they not in pell city, georgia, good morning. caller: i am confident the government has a -- has exercised great power to harm our nation to cause this inflation. the optimism is in the american people. i know half the country is well aware that things are going way wrong with this administration. i don't know that we will ever get the vote again as republicans. i think the election last time was rigged.

the post office close down for two weeks. didn't deliver first-class mail. i had never seen that in my lifetime. just so they could handle mail-in ballots. host: let's move on to joe in missouri. what are your thoughts? caller: i just came back from the grocery store. they raised my favorite peanut butter $.65 for a jar. i did get lemons cheaper at $.65 apiece. i don't think the prices are going to come down. a can of tuna is 2 bucks. i don't think prices are going to come down. and these are not battery cars. i am a mechanic. they are not electric cars, they are battery cars. to change your battery is about 12 return -- is about 12 or

13,000 to change the battery because we have to take the car apart. you might get 90,000. but to change your batteries, it is 12, 13, 14 thousand dollars because we have to take the car apart. host: let's hear nan -- let's hear now from nancy in bowling green, kentucky. nancy, what are your thoughts on inflation? nancy, are you with us? caller: hello? host: yes, go ahead, nancy. caller: yes, i am a first time caller. honestly, i just don't understand. i hear a lot of callers to call in and they say how christian they are. we can all pray. we all have the ability to pray. i still believe, i still have faith that we can overcome whatever there is.

whatever there is, we can overcome it. i believe we can have more faith in our lord and have more faith in people. god can take care of all these things if we only give him the opportunity. how we can do that is praying. i cannot believe how angry people are at times who call into these programs. host: let's move to hunter in lancaster, california. what are your thoughts? caller: good morning. we just saw how we can be pessimistic. a war that started seven years ago, not seven months ago, our economy is in the tanks, but we are celebrating at the white house. higher gas prices, higher cost-of-living, our freedoms are being taken away.

right here on c-span, our freedom is being taken away because we just got this information from our great military. our military is great. there is great people in our military, but it is being run corruptly. just like the disinformation that trump colluded with russia. who is really colluding with russia? who is profiting? hunter was profiting, joe biden was profiting, the disinformation through democrats, even through c-span, it is appalling to think the american people can be this controlled. host: let's move on to janie -- to janie in richmond, virginia. what are your thoughts? caller: hi, actually, janine.

i am very optimistic floor where we go from here. it is important for americans to realize this inflationary. is to vary. i was a young adult during the 1970's so i lived through where you went to the grocery store every week and hamburger went up so many cents every week and all. but this is temporary. what our advantage is right now is with this new legislation, they have put forth things that a year, two years, three years, a decade from now, everything will start to ease up because we were building -- we are building into our supply chain where we don't have to rely whether or not china produces, whether shipments from overseas come in on time. these are creating really good jobs for our country. and also addressing climate change at the same time. i am very optimistic about where the economy is going.

also, can the federal reserve put a slow down the economy? we have had historically terrible low interest rates for a number of years. that has created an artificial, people thinking that money can appear from nowhere. now, coming back to normalcy and where people can start to think about before they actually blow up. i am very optimistic about where the economy can be. host: next up we have julie in rhode island. what are your thoughts, julie? caller:hi. i am retired but i had to go back to work. so i am not optimistic.

i work in retail, i see the prices going up every day. people having to put -- in their tank just to get home. it is going up and up and up and it has not gone down. i am not optimistic because i see people struggling. my mother-in-law is struggling. my mother is struggling and she is 85. it is a really tough time for the american people. if this administration thinks it is getting better, they are just closing their eyes to it. i agree with one of your callers who said the media, they cover and they cover and they cover. in is just not good from -- it is not good for us.

we need help. we don't need to spend billions of dollars overseas in ukraine. we have enough problems in this country with our border that they are ignoring. host: let's hear now from karel in locklin, mena. -- maine. caller: i am a veteran. i live on social security. in the last three years, what they never say on tv, the price of groceries has tripled in some stores. my -- bill every five weeks has went from 260 every five weeks to over $200 just to heat my house. it costs over 50% of my income. so i told my friend the other day, for the first time in my

life, in the winter months, which is about half a year in maine, i cannot afford anymore. i don't make enough money every month to pay my bills. if i didn't have a little savings, i would have to put my house up for sale. i would rather have biden over trump, i don't see where the democrats are saying we got success. because in maine, when i got my truck three years ago, i filled it up for $1.89 in august. and i got the receipt with that price on it. and now i am paying $3.79. one item in the grocery store in maine, one can of progresso soup two years ago cost one dollar 99. and when i went in there

yesterday, it went to three dollars 99 sent for one can of soup. with my electric bill going up, gas going up and oil going up, if i didn't have a say in the cow, i would have to put my house up for sale. women and men who live alone, on one income, electric cars may be a good thing, but how about us people that bought a gas car a couple years ago. i cannot afford a $30,000 car. like the woman said last night on pbs, it says, car companies and food companies got used to making a real good profit during covid and now that the gas has went down a little bit and supply chains have moved a

little bit more, now there is a tug-of-war that companies have passed it on to the consumer. no they are not, so the fed will raise the thing again. we will be in a tug-of-war to see who will give first. this country is in a real mess. host: let's hear now from david in arlington, virginia. david, you are on. caller: thank you, i appreciate it. from what i have heard thus far, people seem to have a real lack of perspective. in the past 50 or so years, that we have been in much worse situations, that economic cycles come and go. and they do get resolved and

each time, if you look at the markets, if you look at the economy, there is always a gradual upward swing. people seem to be kind of reiterating other folks in the you -- other folks in the news, youtube, other places who gaslight and they don't do their own research. that is very alarming. i have lived in a number of different countries and i have seen economies that are much worse. europe and europe gas and food are much higher than here. we just seem to be whining instead of being constructive, positive and optimistic and trying to do our part and move the economy. i think the blame game is useless. it doesn't accomplish anything. people need to do their own

homework and stop listening to every body and figure out what the real situation is. host: we are talking today about whether you are optimistic or pessimistic about the government's ability to control inflation. democrats, if you are optimistic, we want you to dial (202) 748-8000. if you are pessimistic, (202) 748-8001. and if you are not sure, (202) 748-8002. let's now hear from ray in pleasantville, tennessee. what do you think? caller: i am plate -- i am pessimistic. i have opened my eyes. the caller just before talking about he has been in other countries, we are not other countries. this is the united states of america. people like him want to stick your head in the sand, that is fine, go live in them countries.

these people they have got in these positions, biden has put the amateurs in positions. none of them know what they are doing. but they are tearing this country apart. if we don't get them out of here and stop this idiocy and stupid people taking this country down the wrong way, then all of us are going to suffer. host: ok, let's hear from the next caller, armando in san antonio. go ahead, armando. caller: how are you doing? i am leaving out of social see it -- social security because i have a medical issue. i wish i could go to work, but i can't.

these people complaining about this and that, everything going to be fine. we are going to stick with biden and tough it out. we will get everything back on track. host: i want to bring up, gallup last week put out an article about a recent poll. the headline is, inflation now causing hardship for majority in the u.s.. it says 56%, up from 49% from january say rising prices are causing hardship, more middle and upper income americans are experiencing hardship. they are cutting back on spending, canceling travel, the most common actions due to this

hardship. the latest reading includes 12% who described the hardship as severe and 44% is moderate. we are taking your calls about whether you are optimistic or pessimistic about government's ability to control inflation. david, in yorktown, texas, what do you think? caller: good morning. i am thinking that the government doesn't have a great deal of control over the inflation. but i am optimistic overall in the economy -- overall and the economy is doing quite well compared to other countries. as the other gentlemen noted. conditions with the war and the pandemic have left us in sort of ape and we are working our way out of it. i am sure we will come through

and shining colors, eventually. but the blame game doesn't do anyone any good. thank you for hearing my opinion. host: next up, we have joyce in las vegas. joyce, your thoughts? caller: i am very pessimistic. i wanted to give biden a chance, but i think all the money they are wasting on this january 6, i know bad things happen, but they always spend so much money. they keep going deeper on that. i think if they spent more time on what is happening now with the food and all the different costs, that that would really help the economy more than the money and the time they are wasting on january 6. we know what happened, we lived through it. and i think they need to be more with the current data to. it is -- the current attitude. it is bringing the country down. host: cheryl in california, what

do you think? caller: i am optimistic because i understand that as a country, every country right now is going through the same situation and i think the american people have to understand that for decades we have had a silver spoon. but because of some of the choices that we have made, along with the pandemic, has caused us to be in this situation. for example, global warming, we have known for decades that this was a possibility, but you have one side that tried to warn the people, you had the other side fighting against it. so a lot of the things that we are experiencing now, they are kind of self.

my optimism comes from the fact that i think the american people, the majority of us will recognize that this is something we have to go through and if we go through it with patients, we will get through it. host: that will be it for us this morning on washington journal. later today at 10 -- at 1:05 pm, president biden will travel to detroit and tour the detroit auto show. we will carry his remarks on his economic plan and what the white house calls the electric vehicle manufacturing boom. you can watch that later this afternoon on c-span or c-span now, our free mobile app. but now we go to the house floor. the house this week is considering bills on protection of federal employees and whistleblowers, as well as changes to the u.s.