it's painful to go to the grocery store. it's painful to go to the gas pump. >> reporter: but the view from the white house? >> really good but lots of work to do on behalf of american families. >> reporter: lael brainard is director of the national economic council. she is the president's top advisor on the economy. we brought her this question from weber. what are they doing to fix the economy? if it is so great, why does it need fixing? >> reporter: what is your response to that? >> yeah, so we have seen inflation come down by two-thirds. there are certain goods where they still remain too expensive for americans. we still need to do a lot of work to get health care, to be more affordable. i don't know why, but republicans have been resisting those efforts to bring costs down. >> reporter: you are saying that partially why inflation is so persistent, it's the fault of the republicans? >> i'm saying that we are working really hard to bring costs down in the areas that matter most to americans, and in some cases, we really need