President Joe Biden is using the bully pulpit to convince Americans that “Bidenomics” is the greatest thing to hit the country since sliced bread. At a recent appearance in South Carolina, Biden told the audience that “Bidenomics is just another way of saying ‘restoring the American Dream.’”
Well, that depends on how one defines the American Dream. If the American Dream includes soaring inflation, 9.8 million unfilled jobs, a labor force participation rate teetering near historic lows, mortgage rates through the roof, a reduction in real wages, and the vast majority of Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck, then the American Dream is alive and well.
On the other hand, if the American Dream means owning an affordable home, a thriving job market, wages remaining above inflation, and the ability to save for one’s retirement, then the American Dream is as dead as a doornail.
However, despite the overwhelming number of economic indicators showing that Americans are struggling mightily to make ends meet under Bidenomics, that has not stopped the administration from tooting its own economic horn in a futile attempt to persuade Americans that all is hunky dory on the economic front.
Consider Jared Bernstein, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, describing his boss’s economic agenda, “Bidenomics is actually about getting things that are pretty granular done – building the economy from the bottom up and the middle out in a way that we know actually resonates strongly with people.”
As Joe Biden would say, “c’mon man!”
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Under Bidenomics, the middle- and lower-classes have been absolutely pulverized.
First of all, as any economist knows (aside from Jared Bernstein, apparently), the inflation that is part and parcel to Bidenomics has particularly harmed those at the bottom rungs of the economic ladder.
Inflation is akin to a stealth tax that primarily preys upon those with limited discretionary income. According to Moody’s Analytics, the inflation that has resulted from Biden’s misguided spendathon has cost the average U.S. household a whopping $433 per month.
Second, Biden’s draconian energy policies have caused the cost of energy to skyrocket. Once again, for Americans who are barely getting by, filling their gas tank and paying their home heating and cooling bills has become much more difficult due to Biden’s anti-fossil fuel stance, which is a pillar of Bidenomics.
Third, Biden’s generous welfare handouts have incentivized millions of Americans not to work, putting a giant wrench in the heart of America’s economic engine.
Fourth, Biden’s profligate spending, $4.8 trillion in new debt at this point in his presidency, has caused the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates repeatedly. Never forget that high interest rates unduly harm Americans who rely on credit cards to cover everyday expenses. Not to mention that auto loan rates and mortgage rates have spiked, making it more difficult for everyday Americans to secure loans for new cars and homes.
Of course, the mainstream media is more than happy to provide cover for Biden’s economic failures. From The Atlantic to CNN, in the eyes of the liberal media, Bidenomics is an economic miracle.
However, despite the constant drumbeat of how great the economy is thanks to Bidenomics, the American people aren’t buying the hype.
Poll after poll shows that the vast majority of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy. A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that only 34 percent of adults approve of Biden’s stewardship over the economy.
Even more telling, polls continue to come out showing that Americans are extremely worried about the state of the U.S. economy and they fear a recession is more than likely to occur sooner rather than later.
And, if Bidenomics is as popular as the president and his administration claims it to be, then why do Americans place the economy as their number one concern heading into the 2024 election?
The simple fact of it all is that Bidenomics has been, and will continue to be, an economic train wreck because it abandons time-tested free-market policies that fuel economic growth in place of wasteful government spending, economic centralization, an overly burdensome regulatory environment, and superfluous taxes, which inevitably leads to economic dislocation, stagnation, and rampant inflation.
In 1980, Ronald Reagan ran against then-incumbent President Jimmy Carter, who carried an economic record similar to Biden. During the final presidential debate, Reagan simply asked: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”
Days later, the American people answered that question, electing Reagan to undo Carter’s abysmal economic policies. If past is prologue, we could see the same thing occur in 2024.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
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