The cost of living is rising, and Shalanda Young is not denying that. However, the first Black woman to run the president’s $6-trillion budget is doing her part to soften the blow for Black Americans of all ages.
Recently, Young spoke in detail on exactly how President Joe Biden is working to address the issue of inflation.
Many young professionals are moving in with their parents in the face of higher costs of living. What is the president doing to help young adults facing economic challenges?
I’ll start off by saying my mother made it just uncomfortable enough to make sure I never had the thought of returning home. Once I moved out, I never returned, so I think that theory worked, but it is a serious issue.
I’m a parent of a 1-year-old, so I can tell you cost increases and cost pressures are felt by a wide range of individuals. I’m here to tell you the President gets it. You have a president who came from, I like to say “regular folks.” When costs went up, his family felt it. He has people around him, myself included [who get it]. My 94-year-old grandmother in south Louisiana calls me and makes sure I’m aware of how much things cost, and it is our number one economic priority to bring down costs for Americans.
That is why you’ve seen the Ppresident push Congress and pass the Inflation Reduction Act. If you have the Affordable Care Act, premiums will remain low from the American Rescue Plan. That is why you’ve seen the president take action around energy costs, including releasing oil from the strategic petroleum reserves. We’ve seen the price at the gas pump go down more than a dollar since the high over the summer.
When discussing inflation, the people working on it get it, their heads aren’t in the sand, and [we] want you to know that we get it.
Some people are terrified that a recession may be looming. What is your message to those people?
When you look at the economy, look at the broader economic picture. There are some bright lights here, including the labor market. Most people who want a job, can find a job, right? The African American community had an over 9 percent unemployment rate from when this [resident took over, down to 5.8 percent.
More work is to be done, but those are the bright spots. Remember, this is a global trend, the cost increases we’re seeing. Our country is coming from a position of stress, thanks to our labor market, to come out of this on a soft landing. We have bright spots that tell us that recession is not an inevitable thing and that we have the growth and strength in our economy to come out of this by tackling inflation and keeping our economy strong.
