“The U.S. economy just keeps getting better,” wrote Adam Cancryn in POLITICO last month. Such is a line Democrats and the Biden Administration desperately wish everybody would just believe.
They look to the stock market setting new highs — after crashing in 2022 in response to rising interest rates. They also cite historic job growth since 2020 — when government efforts artificially tanked the labor market in response to the pandemic. Picking low starting points, President Biden has insisted the economy is now on the right track.
Unfortunately for the president, poll after poll shows that voters simply do not believe him. After months of campaigning on so-called “Bidenomics,” House Democrats rejected the White House’s push to use the term, Axios reported in December. This followed polling that revealed the tagline was ineffective on the American public.
Democrats have insisted the economy is doing great and have pointed to Joe Biden’s accomplishments during his term. They blame the low polling numbers on Americans’ inability to see just what Biden has accomplished. To them, it’s a messaging problem.
Out in the real world, there is another reason people largely don’t trust Biden on the economy. And that is inflation.
Since the beginning of Joe Biden’s term, inflation has devalued the American Dollar 18%. The inflation rate peaked at 9.1% in the summer of 2022 and has since come back down to a 3.1% rate, as reported in January — yet another economic fix Democrats have touted. After it broke on their watch, of course.
Cumulatively though, inflation has devalued the dollar 18%, and those who rejoice that “prices” are back down, are wrong. Nor do they do their own shopping. They actually mean inflation is lower, not prices. Prices only go down during deflationary periods — which are uncommon and associated with major economic downturns.
As a comparison to Biden’s 18% (in his first three years), the dollar devalued 7.7% under Donald Trump’s four years, and just 5.4% during Barack Obama’s final four years.
Americans find themselves uncomfortable with Biden’s handling of the economy and are reminded of this every time they shop. But on the bright side, the national debt was also devalued by 18% (in real dollars).
Oh but wait — the national debt grew by 23% over roughly the same period. Well, nice try.
– The Byway
Feature image caption: President Joe Biden at a “Bidenomics” Rally in Chicago. Courtesy of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.