Stocks had their worst year since 2008 after Biden boasted about their performance

Ben ZeisloftDecember 31, 2022

The worst year for stocks in recent decades came after President Joe Biden A series of optimistic predictions were made about their performance.

The S&P 500 Index has dropped nearly 20% since the start of the year. This compares to the 37% fall in 2008 after the collapse American banking system. It also rivals the 12%, 22% and 22% falls that were experienced in 2001 and 2002 respectively during the dot.com bubble. Inflation, supply chain bottlenecks and geopolitical pressures made 2022 the seventh worst stock year since 1929’s Great Depression. Worse, the bond market and stock market have been negative in 2022.

Administration staffers and the commander-in-chief himself nevertheless lauded the stock market’s performance in the weeks before its substantial decline. During remarks Biden provided information about unemployment in the first day of January 2022. He noted that the stock exchange was at approximately 20% “higher than it was when my predecessor was there.”

“It has hit record after record after record on my watch, while making things more equitable for working-class people. At the same time, we’ve created jobs, reduced unemployment, raised wages,” Biden said. According to Biden, however, the rising prices would continue to outpace nominal wages increases over the next months. This would result in a 1.9% decline in earnings year-over-year by November 2022. data From the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

During comments The commander-in chief noted that the commander-inchief had received information about labor unions in September 2021. “the stock market has gone up exponentially” Since he ascensioned to the Oval Office. “You haven’t heard me say a word about it. I’m glad it’s gone up.”

Ron Klain is White House Chief Of Staff scoffed A prediction starting from “former guy,” An apparent reference to Donald Trump’s former president, the stock market would plummet in his administration. Biden contends that in November 2021, Biden will take control of the stock market. “cares about main street, not Wall Street.”

However, the stock market’s poor performance has been a major burden on households. Americans saving for retirement saw their IRA accounts fall by an average 25% year-over-year, while their 401(k) balances fell 23% in the third quarter. research Fidelity Investments. A significant trend has occurred since last year: the number of people who have negative financial feelings is now higher than that of those with positive sentiments.

The average value of a 401(k-related account is $2,050 dropped According to a report, the range was $135,000 to $101,000 on the first day and then to $135,000 by October 2. study The Committee to Unleash Prosperity offers a grim view of the past months under the Biden administration, even though stocks have slightly rebounded in recent week.

“This has inflicted considerable financial losses for senior citizens or those in the baby-boom generation who are nearing retirement,” Stephen Moore and E.J. Antoni, one of the conservative-leaning economists that drafted the study. “For a married couple where each person has the average balance in their retirement account, their $270,000 in savings has declined about $80,000, which can be nearly the equivalent of a down payment on a retirement home. In this way, Biden’s economic policies have not only negatively affected the real take home pay of middle-class American workers but have also effectively stolen tens of thousands of dollars of lifetime savings.”