State of the Union: Biden calls inflation "top priority"

• “With all the bright spots in our economy, record job growth and higher wages, too many families are struggling to keep up with the bills,” the president said.
• “Inflation is robbing them of the gains they might otherwise feel,” he added. “I get it. That’s why my top priority is getting prices under control.”

The big picture: Biden blamed surging prices on the speed of the economic recovery and disruption caused by COVID-19 and broken supply chains.

• His long-term solution to fighting costs rests largely on Congress passing parts of his Build Back Better agenda, which will lower costs for prescription drugs.
• “One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer,” he said.

• “I have a better plan to fight inflation,” he said “Lower your costs, not your wages.”

Go deeper: Biden officials have been telegraphing this week their plan to address inflation, which rests on a four-point plan — some of which were achieved in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan.

• But most of the proposals he mentioned were already part of Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.
• That plan is all but dead in the Senate, after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) called off negotiations — citing his concern about inflation.