(UnitedVoice.com) – As the country continues to emerge from the fiscal shadows of the pandemic, President Joe Biden is on edge. According to new economic research, perhaps he has good reason to be nervous. On Monday, July 19, Biden spoke before reporters and offered America an update on the current job growth and economy.
At times, he was very defensive as he fought off accusations his administration’s spending and policy proposals could cause inflation to become a chronic issue. Last fall, some inflation was expected due to people’s inactivity during the pandemic. However, the inflation rates the country is experiencing now could be a lot deeper and more problematic than Biden wants to admit.
Biden Struggles to Explain His Economic Record
The midterm 2022 election and the Democrat’s future hinges on how America emerges from the pandemic. In March, economists warned about government overreach because the American Rescue Act would drive inflation to new heights as trillions of dollars flooded into the economy. As prices continue to explode on products as varied as gas, groceries, homes, cars, and retail products, the ones hurt the most are the lower and middle classes, whose hard-working dollars buy them less as prices rise. In effect, inflation serves as a de facto hidden tax, and the government benefits most from it. As prices rise, tax revenues grow. So much for Biden’s promise that not one person making under $400,000 will see a tax increase.
In late June, polls showed Americans were already losing faith in Biden’s handling of the economy. In just two months, Biden’s approval rating in a Monmouth University Poll slipped 6 points and put him underwater with a 48% approval rating. His message in June was that his policies were working, America was emerging economically, and inflation would be temporary.
On Monday, Biden stayed the course and reiterated the same points. Except this time, he was less confident and more defensive. Biden acknowledged the criticism but countered that his handpicked, no-named economists expected inflation to be temporary. As Biden often does, he claimed “no serious” economists would suggest inflation is anything but short-term.
Biden also pushed back defensively on the socialist label in a moment of genuine candor, declaring himself a capitalist despite the $3 trillion “human” infrastructure bill putting more Americans on a permanent road to government dependence instead of independence.
Is the Economic Growth Truly Biden’s to Claim?
Biden will try to claim all economic growth as a victory for his policy initiatives, but is it? While former President Donald Trump was at the helm, the pandemic came on swiftly. In March 2020, the federal government shut down the country temporarily to prepare for the pandemic. In most of 2020, America didn’t know the economic reality in real-time. It’s only possible to look back and evaluate the data. Here’s what we know now. In the first quarter of 2020, the economy shrank 5%. In the second quarter, it shrank a massive 31.4%.
Then something happened… by the fourth quarter, jobs were rebounding, the gross domestic product (GDP) rose 33.4% over the second and third quarter. In the fourth quarter, it grew 4%. The turn-around not only wiped out the initial negative economic impact on the GDP but created slight growth overall for the year. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the recession only lasted two months. It was technically over by the end of April, making it the shortest recession on record.
Biden should be distraught. His policies aren’t contributing to any growth. They are likely holding back fiscal growth as the Federal Reserve pumps money into the economy and Democrats try to inject trillions of more dollars through proposed legislation. By flooding the market with more government money, it’s likely to devalue the dollar and increase the prices of everything Americans purchase.
Biden is ignoring the laws of economics and hoping the government can twist the rules in its public relations favor with voters. It’s not working. A poll conducted by the conservative American Action Network said 88% of Americans are worried about the cost of living increases, 86% are worried about inflation, and 73% are worried about Democrats raising taxes.
If true, then Biden and the Democrats are in deep trouble in 2022 and beyond. The only way for the president to defend his record is to change his rhetoric and policies. Does anyone really see that happening?
Biden is boxed into a corner.
Will he choose America or the far Left?
Don Purdum, Independent Political Analyst
Copyright 2021, UnitedVoice.com
