Because of Biden’s Excessive Spending, 64 Percent of Americans are Living Paycheck to Paycheck
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The vast majority of Americans have had a difficult time in the past two years under President Biden. For hardworking Americans, the Biden administration has been a difficult one. From persistent inflation to government-induced shortages of essential goods like infant formula, it has been a tough time.
The economic gloom due to Biden’s reckless spending and never-ending regulations has manifested throughout the economic spectrum. A new study has shown that Biden’s reckless spending habits and inflexible regulations have actually led to economic woes. Survey Lending Club reports that 64 percent of Americans, or 166 million, live paycheck to paycheck.
What’s more, 51 percent of Americans earning more than $100,000 per year reported living paycheck to paycheck in 2022.
The most alarming aspect of this disturbing trend? It is that the Biden administration refuses change its destructive economic agenda. According to the report, 2022 will be the year of the famine. “9.3 million more consumers are now living paycheck to paycheck, and eight million, or 86%, of those consumers earn more than $100,000 annually.”
Anuj Nayar from Lending Club Financial, states that most consumers attribute their financial difficulties to inflation. “The effects of inflation are eating into every American’s wallet … While the number of Americans living paycheck to paycheck is close to the height we saw in the middle of the pandemic, the causes appear to be very different, as the economy is not sheltering in place like it was back in 2020.”
In other words, Biden’s wild spending spree, which now stands at $4.8 Trillion In “new” Americans struggle to make ends meets by spending less than 2 years.
According to the survey data, Americans don’t believe that things will improve anytime soon. Only four out of ten Americans think so. “expect their personal finances to improve in the next year.” And, “90% of wage-earners report that their pay increases were lost to inflation in 2022, with only 42% expecting rising pay to offset price increases in 2023.”
The majority of the people in the paycheck to paycheck cohort are therefore unemployed. “are likely to shy away from large purchases in 2023, such as electronics and appliances.” Specifically, “only 35% of consumers said they will incur leisure travel expenses in 2023, and just 24% plan to purchase expensive electronics or appliances this year.”
GDP drops when Americans spend less on goods or services. We are in a recession when GDP falls for more than two consecutive quarters. Recessions can lead to job cuts, which already occur throughout the economy. This means less consumer spending. This vicious circle is what causes economic calamities. “depressions.”
It’s been almost a century since Great Depression, which caused widespread havoc throughout the world. The looming economic crisis is not as severe as the Great Depression years, but that does not mean there are no reasons to be optimistic.
The national debt is at an alarming level as of the time this article was written. $31.5 Trillion Countless. Today, the national debt to GDP ratio, a good gauge to measure a nation’s macroeconomic health, has eclipsed 120 percent.
For comparison sake, in 1929, on the eve of the Great Depression, the nation’s debt was a paltry $17 billion and the debt to GDP ratio was a minuscule 16 percent.
This does not necessarily mean that the United States will experience another Great Depression. This is an indication that the economic system we live in is unsustainable.
The Lending Club survey shows that Americans are responding to rising prices with tightening their belts, and cutting back on unnecessary spending. When will Uncle Sam do the same and curb the excessive deficit spending that has been causing inflation and putting our economy in serious danger?
Thankfully, the latest debt ceiling negotiations present an opportunity for Congress, which controls the nation’s purse strings, to put an end to this inflation-fueling, deficit-fattening spendathon.
While I am not naïve enough to believe that Congress and Biden will actually reduce the deficit, I am somewhat hopeful that the GOP-led House will at least leverage their position to quash Biden’s hopes for even more profligate spending over the next two years.
The first law of holes says it all. “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” This sentiment has resonated with American citizens over the last few years. It is now more important than ever that the federal government does the same.
Chris Talgo ([email protected]) The Heartland Institute is her editorial director.
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