Americans are feeling the pain of high inflation and rising prices at the pump and grocery store. But President Joe Biden and his administration claim that the economy is doing better than ever, leaving many people confused about what to believe. But when it comes to assessing the president’s economic performance, there’s no denying that Americans don’t have a lot of faith in him.
Bideeconomics at work…????https://t.co/K6wxM5cBct
— Miro Tokarczyk (@miroslavtok) May 3, 2021
To combat this lack of trust, President Biden recently introduced his economic messaging, one focused on middle-class growth, infrastructure investment, and job creation. As he stated in a speech last month in Chicago: “Bidenomics is just another way of saying ‘restore the American Dream because it worked before.’” But despite these lofty goals, many Americans have yet to experience any dramatic improvements in their day-to-day lives.
Though the U.S. has seen an impressive recovery from the pandemic-induced recession with booming employment numbers and consumer spending, record-high inflation as well as nearly a year of unprecedented interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve threaten to derail our progress forward.
CHUCK SCHUMER: "Our economy is doing so well!"
Since Biden took office, prices are up 16.9%, real wages are down 3%, and gas is up $1.48/gallon. Credit card debt is at a record high. 20 million households are behind on their utility bills. The list goes on. pic.twitter.com/sIfcdtmDQn
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 16, 2023
This means that while low-income workers may have seen some wage gains since pre-COVID levels, those increases were relatively small for middle-class families who are struggling with rising costs of living expenses, making it easy for them to ignore any benefits they may have received amidst growing financial insecurity caused by higher prices across various industries such as food and energy production.
Turns out the conspiracy theorists were wrong. The Biden administration isn’t just coming for your gas stove, they’re coming for a whole lot more. @DFR_Economics https://t.co/eRIuTGWdHg
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) August 16, 2023
It would be naive to deny that partisan differences play a role here too; Republicans seem particularly displeased with Biden’s handling of economics issues according to polls such as an Associated Press/NORC Center survey from June which found only 34% approval rate for his handling of the economy (up only 1% from May).
However, Democrats aren’t far behind either; Morning Consult registered a B grade given by Democrats on their April poll while Navigator Research reported just over 25% strong approval for Biden’s handling on economic issues among Democrats with 46% somewhat approving – suggesting lukewarm support at best among party members themselves.
Pres. Biden to meet with leaders of Japan and South Korea to discuss potential threats from China and North Korea. @selinawangtv reports.
"This is expected to be a series of announcements that covers economics, diplomacy as well as security." pic.twitter.com/oObTIZY0Pn
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) August 18, 2023
No matter how you slice it, President Joe Biden faces an uphill battle when trying to convince Americans about his ability to improve their lives through economic policies alone – especially considering current trends like record inflation and interest rates hikes threatening future progress towards full recovery from COVID-19 fallout. Only time will tell if he can successfully restore confidence in himself regarding economics but one thing is certain: It won’t be easy!
