Biden defends economic record, hits out at 'doom and gloom' predictions: 'Capitalism is alive and very well'

President Biden on Monday highlighted his record on the economy in his first six months in office, responding to "doom and gloom" predictions from before he took office that he would "end" capitalism.

Biden further stressed that Congress should pass his agenda to push the economic recovery forward, maintaining that it will create jobs and spur growth, while vowing that it will increase the economy's capacity and, over time, keep prices affordable for American families. 

The president, delivering remarks on the economy from the White House Monday amid inflation concerns, said that price increases are temporary and vowed that while some believe the increases are a "sign of persistent inflation," the administration sees otherwise. 

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"Our experts believe and data shows that the price increases we've seen are expected, and were expected, to be temporary," Biden said. "You can't turn the global economic switch back on and not expect this to happen." 

He added: "These disruptions are temporary." 

The president said his administration "understands that if we were to experience unchecked inflation over the long term, that would pose a real challenge to our economy." 

"We remain vigilant to any response needed," Biden said and expressed confidence that "unchecked inflation" is not expected. 

The president's comments come amid inflation concerns after the Federal Reserve last week moved to keep in place policy measures implemented last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, even as inflation surges to its highest level in 13 years. 

Last week, the government reported that inflation rose at its fastest pace since 2008 in June, with consumer prices jumping 0.9% from May and 5.4% over the past year. 

"The Fed is independent," Biden said Monday, saying he stressed to Chairman Jerome Powell that the Fed should "take whatever steps it deems necessary to support economic recovery." 

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But the president stressed that Americans "should be united on one thing," and that is the "passage of bipartisan infrastructure framework." 

The president on Monday explained how investments in the U.S. economy under his economic agenda would enable more Americans to enter the labor force, increase the supply of goods that consumers want to buy, improve the resiliency of supply chains and reduce the costs of producing and getting goods to the market. 

The president's comments also come amid negotiations for his $4 trillion economic agenda, including the $1.9 trillion American Jobs Plan and the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan. The president said the proposal would rebuild the nation's infrastructure and pump money into manufacturing, transportation, renewable energy and combating climate change -- saying it "will add millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in economic growth for years to come." 

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Last month, the president signed off on a $953 billion infrastructure plan after meeting with five Democrats and five Republicans who hammered out the agreement in the Senate. The deal achieves a top priority for Biden's political agenda: signaling to the American public that he can build bridges and find consensus with Republicans.

The bipartisan framework includes about $559 billion in new spending that will be invested in roads, broadband internet, electric utilities and other traditional infrastructure projects over the next five years.

Last week, the president threw his support behind Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's $3.5 trillion spending package that would complete the president’s infrastructure plan. 

The plan would fund a budget reconciliation package so that Democratic lawmakers can sidestep the need for GOP support and shield the funds from a filibuster. 

The budget will cover costs to expand Medicare, address climate change, child care and education – all big-ticket items deemed "human infrastructure" that Republicans said they would fervently reject.

Meanwhile, the president touted the more than 3 million jobs created under his administration, saying it is the "fastest growth, at this point, in any administration's history." 

"Capitalism is alive and very well," Biden said. "We're making serious progress to ensure it works the way it is supposed to work." 

Biden added that his administration has "brought this economy back from the brink," and said it has "designed a strategy not only to provide for a temporary boost, but to lay the foundation for a long-term boom to bring everyone along so we can help families and small businesses." 

The president added that "there are going to be ups and downs," but touted the "record growth, record job creation" and increases for American workers. 

"We cannot afford to be complacent," Biden said, noting that economic recovery hinges on "getting the pandemic under control," maintaining the importance of vaccinating Americans.