If you ask Americans what they think of the U.S. economy, they will tell you things are not good. Americans are stressed about the family budget. They worry about falling behind financially. They feel like what they’ve worked so hard to earn could be gone in an instant. But if you ask President Biden, the economy couldn’t be better – so good that he put his name on it: Bidenomics.
The President brags a lot about the economy, so we decided to look at what the President has been saying, compare that to the facts on the ground, and let you decide for yourself.
The Rhetoric
“We’re bringing down prices across the board.”
– Joe Biden
The Reality
Cost-of-living is up 19.4%…and climbing.
Since Joe Biden took office, overall prices are up 19.4%, and it costs American families $11,400 more per year just to maintain the quality-of-life they had in January 2021. Inflation shows no sign of easing. At its current rate, prices would increase nearly 5% over the next year. The inflation rate could go to zero, and Americans would still be stuck with these higher prices. Bidenomics means Bidenflation.
“Wages are up after being adjusted for inflation.”
– Joe Biden
The Reality
Real wages and take-home pay both down.
Working Americans are making less under Joe Biden, with inflation-adjusted hourly wages down 2.5%. Recent real wage increases have been more than offset by a decrease in the average work week. The result? Since January 2021, real weekly earnings have shrunk 4.1%. American paychecks are lighter thanks to Bidenomics.
“My economic plan is working. It’s reducing the deficit.”
– Joe Biden
The Reality
$2 trillion annual deficits: the new normal.
Joe Biden’s reckless spending has sent the debt and deficits soaring. The national debt was $27.8 trillion when Joe Biden took office; it’s more than $34.2 trillion today. The Congressional Budget Office projects that $2-trillion-plus deficits will soon be the norm. Combined with higher interest rates caused by inflation, American taxpayers last year paid more for interest on the national debt ($879 billion) than defense. In ten years, CBO projects 38 cents of every income tax dollar will go toward interest on the debt.
“We’re growing an economy from the middle out and bottom up, instead of the top down…Bidenomics is just another way of saying ‘the American Dream.’”
– Joe Biden
The Reality
Mounting debt, high interest rates no one’s idea of a dream.
With more debt, higher interest rates, and higher prices, the American Dream is out of reach for too many Americans. Inflation, as always, hits the poor the hardest. 7% mortgage rates are pricing many middle-class families out of the housing market. The New York Fed reports household debt reached a record high of $17.5 trillion.
“We’re literally reducing the cost of people being able to meet their basic needs.”
– Joe Biden
The Reality
Under Bidenomics it costs more to drive, work, and heat/cool your home.
Joe Biden’s energy policies have hit Americans hard. Since he came into office, home heating oil is up 44%, gasoline is up 33%, electricity is up 29%, and natural gas is up 27%. And the President’s electric vehicle (EV) provisions in the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act play into China’s hands, rewarding Chinese EV makers with U.S. taxpayer subsidies and pushing minerals and technologies China controls.
“What was good four years ago, is no good today” Steve, Becky, and Ray might all be Montanans, but they all have very different lives. Steve is a small business owner, Becky is a full-time mom and Ray is a