Arguably one of President Donald Trump's biggest successes since he took the office in 2017 is the record low unemployment rate, which currently sits at 3.6 percent. More people are back to work than ever before and yet former Vice President Joe Biden refuses to give Trump praise.
During an interview with "PBS News Hour" host Judy Woodruff, Biden attempted to buck the narrative that Trump's economic policies are working for average Americans.
“The economy — new jobs numbers out today, look pretty good," Woodruff said. "The unemployment rate is staying very low, 3.6 percent. It’s as low as it’s been in 50 years. President Trump has a strong hand going into the — “
Biden was quick to interject, saying Woodruff's so-called "analysis" of the situation was all wrong.
“Absolutely wrong about that," Biden replied.
The former vice president said he judges whether or not the economy is booming based on how his old neighborhood is doing, not the actual economic numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"Look, go back to your old neighborhood. Find me middle-class folks who think they’re better off. Find me anybody out there who thinks their children are going to be as well off as they are," Biden said. "Do you think they are in fact actually able to benefit from what’s happening here?"
Biden believes "wages are stagnant and they’re going up slightly but not enough." That sentence alone is contradictory. If wages were stagnant then they wouldn't be going up at all. In a sense, he proved Trump's policies are working in that sentence alone.
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The former vice president, however, admitted that he doesn't look at the cold, hard facts to come to his conclusion.
"I mean, look, the numbers I don’t look at," Biden admitted. "What I look at is what I hear in the street when I look at my old neighborhood."
Biden used a rather stupid example to claim Trump's policies aren't working. He argued that if a family unexpectedly received a bill for $400 in the mail that "they'd have to borrow the money or sell something" to make their finances work.
"So I think that’s what the voters will decide. I think middle class is being left behind and working people are being left behind by these policies," he concluded.
Here's the reality that someone like Biden, who is well off, doesn't understand. Middle class Americans live paycheck to paycheck. We try our best to anticipate and prepare for the unexpected expenses that come with every day living, like a trip to the emergency room or a flat tire. Most people are banking on payday to get ahead on their bills and put more in their savings accounts for rainy days.
Trump's tax cuts have provided relief to the middle class. They've put more money back in people's pockets so they can spend their money how they choose. Some will put it in savings for a rainy day, others will pay off debt and a handful may even buy themselves something they've wanted but couldn't afford.
The president's tax cuts have enabled small and big businesses to hire more people. Money that would have gone to the government is now going to working people. When more people have jobs, they have more money to spend, which stimulates the economy.
Biden can't say people are "being left behind" when the unemployment rate is at a record low and the middle class has more money in their pockets. This is just his way of downplaying President Trump's economic success.
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