US Economy in Worse Shape Than White House Claims

In June 2022, ‍President⁣ Joe Biden claimed ⁣the United⁤ States was “the fastest-growing economy in the world.” ⁤This was complete nonsense. In the ‌second ⁤quarter of 2023, U.S. GDP grew‌ by 2.4 percent. India’s growth so ​far this year has been around ⁢6 percent. Albania, Belgium, Bolivia, Cameroon,⁣ and ​a host⁤ of other ‍countries ⁤have posted faster GDP growth than the United⁤ States.

Mainstream media claim that only the Republicans ⁢ believe the economy‍ is ​bad and heading toward a recession. However, an examination of the ⁤data confirms‍ that the growth numbers⁣ are not the only‍ things ⁢that Bidenomics got wrong and that the country is very close to a recession.

Since ‍President ⁢Biden took‍ office⁤ in January 2021,⁢ there has been‌ nearly 13 percent‌ cumulative inflation. But that is just an average. Some⁣ products increased⁣ by much ‍more. Gas ‌was $2.42 per ⁣gallon in 2021; it now costs ‍$3.95, a 63 percent increase. Eggs used to be $1.67 per ‌dozen, but in⁣ April, the average price was $3.27, with some parts of the country reporting prices as high as $7. Ground beef was $3.89 a⁢ pound in 2021; ⁢now ⁣it is⁢ $4.96. And just ​in the past year, new cars have‌ increased ​ almost ⁤20 percent, frozen food⁤ by more than 12 ‍percent, baby food by 10 percent, and rent by over 8 percent.

When the May jobs⁢ report came‍ out, President Biden stated: “We have now ‍created over 13 million jobs ⁤since ‍I took ⁤office. That is more jobs in 28 months than‍ any ⁤president has created in ‌an entire ​four-year term.” This is ‍a myth. In actuality, 72 percent of these ⁢allegedly ‍new jobs were ⁣just‌ people returning to work after the ​pandemic. ‍The real number of ⁣jobs created by the Biden administration is ‍ 3.7 ‍million.

Prior to the pandemic, then-President Donald Trump had created 6.7 million jobs. ‍The labor‌ force participation rate under President ⁤Biden is 0.7 ​percentage points lower than under the previous administration. ‌Adjusting for population growth, ‍this means that roughly 2 million more Americans are out‍ of work now than ⁢under President Trump.

After⁢ shutting down the economy in response to the pandemic, ⁤the ⁢Biden administration went on a spending spree with the American Rescue Plan and other initiatives, securing approval for $4.8 trillion ​in⁢ additional debt generation. In the‍ end, President⁤ Biden seemed ‌very ⁢pleased with himself for putting a ⁢Band-Aid on the wound.‍ One of ⁢the most ironic pieces of legislation was the Inflation Reduction Act. When he signed ‌it ⁢into law in ⁣August 2022, inflation⁢ was at a 40-year high. The Act called for additional spending, which just added to the money supply, increasing inflation.

Most ⁤people think that inflation means that prices are going up. Actually, higher prices are just the result. Inflation is a loss in the value of ‍your money caused by artificially low ‍interest rates and government borrowing and spending.‍ The Biden administration’s spending programs ​added trillions ⁣to the money supply, ‌decreasing the purchasing power of your ⁢dollars. The Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate hikes are starting to rein in the money supply, which is why inflation ‌is diminishing.‍ However, high interest rates hurt families wanting to buy ⁣cars, borrow money, or get mortgages. Also, these⁤ rate⁤ hikes would never have been needed if ‌the administration had not⁤ flooded the economy ​with debt‍ and​ spending.

Recently, the Biden administration took credit for reducing‌ inflation,‍ saying that the ‌Inflation Reduction Act ‌worked. But as stated above, President Biden did not bring down inflation. More spending ⁢did not reduce ​inflation, and most importantly, the Act⁤ did not bring down inflation—increasing the ​Fed ⁤rate did.

Also, ‍people in the United ⁢States and elsewhere going back to work, with factories⁤ and shipping returning ‌to ⁢some sort of normalcy, helped to reduce⁤ prices. The Fed⁢ rate⁣ is an⁤ artificial rate, not a market rate. It⁢ was set artificially⁣ low ‌during the pandemic, which helped cause inflation. Now, ‌it is artificially high, which is slowing the economy. If the monetary authorities are not careful, the economy could slow too ‍much, pushing the nation into recession. What is more, ​the country would ⁢not be teetering ‌on the brink of ‌a recession if it were ⁤not for Bidenomics.

Another⁢ important ‌point ‌is‍ that ‍prices​ have not fallen.​ The inflation rate was 7 percent in 2021, 6 percent in 2022, and 3.2 percent this year.​ Not only is 3.2 percent above the normal 2–3 percent ‌target ‍set by the Fed but these​ numbers, whether they are⁣ 7 percent or 3.2 ‍percent, are the rate at ‍which prices are ​increasing. So the ⁤Biden administration ⁢did not‌ actually bring down⁤ prices. And ‍it did not‍ prevent prices from‍ rising more. It has ‌just slowed the rate​ at which ‍they are ⁣increasing. If this counts as a victory, there needs‌ to be a new metric of evaluation.