In previous generations, Americans aspired to achieve a better standard of living than their parents. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the American dream consisted of “good jobs, a nice house, two children, and plenty of money.”
Sadly, the American dream has turned into a nightmare as our country suffers through the economic policies of President Joe Biden. He labels this economic misery “Bidenomics” and mistakenly believes it will help him win another presidential term.
Sorry, Mr. President, but your policies are a disaster, and Americans are longing for the prosperity they enjoyed under President Donald Trump. The latest ABC News/Ipsos poll showed that Americans trust Trump over Biden by a 43-31% margin in handling the economy.
Despite liberal media cheerleading and Biden’s assurances of a strong economy, Americans feel much different. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), a U.S. Senate candidate, complained in a recent debate about the “affordability crisis” in her state. She referenced a survey showing “$127,000 for a family of four is just barely enough.” Her solution is ludicrous while she is right about the “affordability crisis” facing Americans. Lee proposes a minimum wage of $50 per hour.
Such a minimum wage would create massive unemployment as companies would lay off non-essential workers. It would also lead to higher prices for consumers and an even higher inflation rate, which has been a persistent problem during the Biden administration.
Over the three years of the Biden presidency, overall inflation has soared 17.9%, easily outpacing the 12.8% increase in weekly earnings in that period. Thus, “real buying power” is decreasing and hard-working Americans are falling behind.
In some areas, the price increases are even more dramatic. For example, gasoline prices have skyrocketed by 33.1%, household energy costs are 29.5% higher, and grocery prices have increased by 21.0%. With such an economic nightmare, it is no surprise that 58% of Americans disapprove of Bidenomics.
In last week’s inflation report, monthly inflation increased to 0.3%, which equates to a 3.6% annual rate. Even worse, the “core” Producer Price Index increased 0.6% in January. In the view of Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s Senior Economic Analyst, the “reports are indicating that inflation is sticking around for a while. It’s a little like the guest that won’t go away.”
Along with high and persistent inflation, another disastrous consequence of Bidenomics has been the rapid increase in interest rates. Since inflation is continuing at a higher rate than most economists predicted, it will likely result in the Federal Reserve pausing on plans to decrease interest rates. Consequently, Americans will not see the relief they desperately need on credit card interest rates and mortgage rates.
In March of 2022, the Federal Reserve started raising rates to the target range of 5.25-5.50%. While there have been no increases since July of 2023, Americans have not seen the long-promised interest rate cuts.
Most analysts are now predicting that cuts may be delayed until after the June meeting of the central bank. Another reason for the delay may be the so-called strength of the American labor market, which showed a growth of 353,000 jobs in January and a 3.7% unemployment rate.
However, an analysis of the labor market indicates there are 183,000 fewer American born workers today than in the last quarter of 2019, prior to the onset of the pandemic. The job growth of 2.7 million since then has been entirely due to the increase in foreign-born (illegal and legal) workers.
Another troubling statistic is that only 75.6% of American-born men without a college degree are in the labor force. This participation rate is lower than the pre-pandemic levels and has been steadily dropping since the 90% level in the 1960’s.
As noted by Steven Camarota and Karen Zeigler of the Center for Immigration Studies, “The long-term decline in the labor force participation rate of less-educated men is linked to serious social problems, from suicide and crime to drug overdoses and social isolation.”
Overall, an astounding 59 million Americans of working age (16-64) are not participating in our labor force. These people are surviving by drawing on their savings, racking up more debt, living on government assistance, or have become part of the growing number of homeless Americans.
As the recent economic reports indicate, life in America under Bidenomics is quite a financial strain. It is hitting the millions of lower to middle-class Americans the hardest.
Even fast food is no longer affordable for millions of Americans. A recent news story indicated that the cost of a “Big Mac combo meal” at some McDonald’s restaurants had jumped to $18.00. After backlash from consumers, the CEO of McDonald’s, Chris Kempczinski, admitted the company would need to pay “more attention” to “affordability” in 2024.
Unfortunately, there is extraordinarily little “affordability” for Americans who need insurance. In the last year, the cost of automobile insurance has increased by 20.6% for automobile insurance. It has been increasing by at least 10% for 17 straight months.
It is not much better for homeowners’ insurance as “double-digit” increases have occurred in 25 states. Sadly, homeowners' insurance is not available in some areas, especially those hit by recent natural disasters.
There are many reasons for the insurance hikes, including the increasing costs for automobiles and homes and replacement parts. For owners of electric vehicles, battery replacement can be necessary for minor accidents and can be extremely expensive. Of course, the Biden administration has been pushing electric vehicles for three years as they have declared war on the domestic oil and gas industry.
Biden coupled his extreme “climate agenda” with massive federal spending, such as the $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” in 2021. As explained by U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD), “This reckless bill flooded the economy with unnecessary government money, and the economy overheated as a result…from this misguided spending, we’re still dealing with the inflation crisis that President Biden and Democrats’ spending helped create.”
Yes, America, Bidenomics has been a nightmare that will not end.
Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian, and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from Noon until 1 p.m. CT nationally on Real America's Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-11 a.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America's Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com