President Joe Biden and those in his administration, particularly Vice President Kamala Harris, have been touting “Bidenomics” as their new slogan as they gear up for the 2024 campaign season.
For instance, on August 4, Harris declared, “Bidenomics is working… America’s economy is strong and experiencing stable and steady growth… And unlike economic recoveries in the past, this growth is not only being felt on Wall Street. But, more importantly, it is being felt on Main Street, especially by people who start and own small businesses.”
A month prior, while in South Carolina, Biden had stated, “Bidenomics is just another way of saying ‘restoring the American Dream.’ Forty years of trickle-down limited that dream to those at the top. But I believe that every American willing to work hard should be able to get a good job no matter where they live — in the heartland, in the small towns, in every part of this country — to raise their kids on a good paycheck.”
Although Biden and Harris would like you to believe that Bidenomics is some kind of economic miracle that has substantially improved the lives of the middle and working classes, the evidence says otherwise.
According to a recent survey by Lending Club, 61 percent of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. What’s more, about 75 percent of those earning less than $50,000 and 65 percent of those making $50,000 to $100,000 per year are struggling to make ends meet on a monthly basis. Incredibly, even 45 percent of Americans earning more than $100,000 say they are living paycheck-to-paycheck.
Living paycheck-to-paycheck makes it impossible for most people to put money aside for a rainy day, which explains why 66 percent of Americans cannot afford a $400 surprise expense.
Under Biden, Americans have been hit with higher prices for staple consumer goods, and wage gains have failed to keep pace with inflation. As a result, credit card debt is soaring. In fact, Americans’ total outstanding credit card debt just surpassed the $1 trillion threshold.
In fact, since Biden entered the Oval Office and launched his economic agenda, Americans’ credit card debt has increased by almost $300 billion. On a similar note, more than 20 million American households are behind on their utility bills.
It is bad enough that Americans are piling up mountains of high-interest credit card debt and falling behind on utilities. But far more alarming is the rate at which people living under Bidenomics are withdrawing funds early from their retirement plans.
Typically, those with 401(k) plans or other retirement investment vehicles are reluctant to withdraw from these plans before they reach retirement age, because they are forced to pay penalties if they do so. But desperate times are changing their habits. As CNN recently noted, “The number of people who made a hardship withdrawal during the second quarter (of 2023) surged from the first three months of the year to 15,950, an increase of 36% from the second quarter of 2022.”
And note that this is all post-COVID.
So, why is Bidenomics causing such tough times for average Americans, the very people Joe and Kamala claim that Bidenomics are supposedly benefitting the most?
First, Biden’s anti-fossil fuel energy stance has caused the price of oil, gasoline, home heating oil, and natural gas to skyrocket. And, because energy is a central element of nearly all economic activities, this has caused prices to spike across the board.
Second, Biden’s profligate spending ($4.8 trillion in new borrowing to date) has further fueled inflation and caused the Federal Reserve to repeatedly raise interest rates. High interest rates and high inflation disproportionally affect those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder — the very people Biden and Harris claim are flourishing under Bidenomics.
Third, Biden’s heavy-handed regulations, generous subsidies for unproductive enterprises, and the chaos at the open southern border are all stunting economic growth. These aspects of Bidenomics are misallocating precious resources, disrupting price signals, preventing employers from investing in research and development, and driving down workers’ wages.
Although Biden and Harris claim that Bidenomics is helping “Main Street” and reviving the “American Dream,” the opposite is occurring. Bidenomics may be intended to help the “little guy,” but in reality, it is increasing inequality because it is making the rich richer and the poor poorer.
No wonder only 33 percent of Americans approve of Bidenomics.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.