After living under Bidenomics for more than three years, the vast majority of Americans are at their wits’ end trying to make ends meet.
According to a 2023 payroll.org survey, 78 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Even worse, 29 percent of Americans “reported that their income doesn’t even cover their standard expenses,” per a Forbes Advisor poll also conducted in 2023.
Because they can barely afford the bare necessities, Americans are drowning in debt. The total amount of credit card debt held by Americans has skyrocketed by more than $300 billion over the past three years. It now stands at an almost inconceivable $1.1 trillion.
What’s more, credit card delinquencies have risen every month of the Biden administration as more than 20 percent of Americans have “maxed out” their cards over the past three years. Americans are also struggling to pay their auto loans and more than 20 million households are unable to pay their utility bills on time.
Unfortunately, most Americans do not believe things will get much better any time soon. According to the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, “consumer sentiment,” “consumer expectations,” and “current economic conditions” all experienced 10-point drops from April 2024 to May 2024.
As Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu recently noted, “While consumers had been reserving judgment for the past few months, they now perceive negative developments on a number of dimensions. They expressed worries that inflation, unemployment and interest rates may all be moving in an unfavorable direction in the year ahead.”
Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming majority of Americans blame President Biden and his economic policies for their financial hardships. Nearly 60 percent of Americans “disapprove” of Biden’s handling of the economy, based on the Real Clear Politics Poll Average.
Moreover, as numerous polls show, most Americans are extremely concerned about “the high cost of living/inflation.” And, most blame the Biden administration for the steep rise in inflation over the past three years.
Of course, Biden is not solely responsible for the economic difficulties Americans are currently facing. To be fair, most of these problems have been simmering for many years.
However, it is clearly apparent that Biden’s policies have made things worse, not better.
First and foremost, Biden’s green energy agenda has led to soaring energy prices. Since January 2021, gasoline prices have doubled, energy prices have increased by 37 percent, and electricity prices have climbed by nearly 30 percent. For context, energy prices increased less than 5 percent over the previous seven years before Biden took office.
As my colleague, Sterling Burnett recently wrote in The Washington Times, “after less than two full years in office, Biden’s climate and energy policies increased average household energy costs by more than $2,300.”
Second, Biden and congressional Democrats approved $4.8 trillion in new spending programs over the first two years of his presidency, which has unleashed inflation across the board.
From grocery stores to fast-food restaurants and just about everywhere in between, Americans are being hit hard by ever rising prices due to Biden’s reckless spending. In fact, as of December 2022, “the cumulative 13.8% inflation … cost the typical household approximately $10,000.”
Third, Biden’s open border policy has resulted in a flood of illegal immigrants who are driving down wages. This is a simple case of supply and demand. When the supply of available low-wage workers increases significantly over a short period, the cost of labor decreases. Since January 2021, more than 10 million illegal immigrants have crossed the Southern border.
This huge new pool of unskilled labor helps explain why wages have been stagnant throughout Biden’s presidency. You know things are bad when Jacobin, a self-described “leading voice of the American left, offering socialist perspectives on politics” concedes that “real wages have declined under Joe Biden’s presidency.”
And, let’s not overlook the fact that Biden’s open border policy has led to a crisis in cities across the nation, causing many metropolitan centers to spend billions of dollars on shelter, food, clothing, etc. for these “newcomers.” Every dollar these cities spend on illegal immigrants is a dollar less for American citizens struggling to get by, adding insult to injury.
All said and told, the Biden administration’s policies have unleashed economic turmoil unexperienced in the United States for decades. With less than six months before the 2024 general election, it is unlikely the economic ship will reverse course anytime soon. I just hope Americans can hold on a little bit longer.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.