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Real wages have declined during President Joe Biden’s term, leading to a dramatic increase in the number of Americans living below the poverty line, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report.
The report, released last week, found that in 2022, the number of Americans living under the poverty level had risen to 12.4 percent, up from 7.8 percent in 2021.
Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress and the White House during Biden’s first two years in office, passing monster spending bills that many economists said led to huge inflationary increases that continue to this day. The White House, meanwhile, has touted the president’s economic policies — “Bidenomics,” as they are collectively referred to — as he heads into reelection mode.
The New York Post, citing the report, added: “You aren’t just imagining it: Your paycheck didn’t go as far last year as it did the year before — or the year before that. Inflation surges outpaced the average pay raises of US workers in 2022 — the third consecutive year under President Joe Biden in which Americans have seen their standard of living take a tumble, according to fresh data from the US Census Bureau. Inflation-adjusted median household income fell to $74,580 in 2022 — a 2.3% decline from the 2021 average of $76,330, the federal agency reported on Tuesday.”
The rise in costs and the drop in real income under Biden and Democratic leadership has caused tens of millions of Americans to cut back on expenses, buy cheaper items, and even borrow money from family to pay for monthly expenses.
As gas prices begin to rise again and food prices have remained high, credit card debt in the U.S. has also swollen “by $45 billion from Q1 2023 to Q2 2023,” according to Bankrate.com in August.
The report said that “consumer credit card debt has risen to an all-time high of $1.03 trillion,” as “the number of credit card accounts also grew by 5.48 million.”
“Balances are up 34 percent from the pandemic low of $770 billion in Q1 2021,” Ted Rossman, Senior Industry Analyst at Bankrate, said. “Bankrate recently found that 47 percent of credit cardholders carry debt from month to month, up from 39 percent in 2021. Even more troubling is the fact that 60 percent of Americans with credit card debt have had it for at least a year, up 10 percentage points from two years ago.”
“My top tip for paying down credit card debt is to sign up for a 0% balance transfer credit card,” Rossman said.
Tselane Stevens, 62, who moved to Midwood, Brooklyn, last month from Virginia, told The Post she hasn’t gotten a raise in three years and has had to turn to her family to borrow money to help pay the rent. She also frequents a food bank for groceries.
“In the last three years, I stopped eating out. I’ve struggled to get my rent paid. I don’t even know the last time I shopped for myself. I haven’t bought new shoes or a new coat in three years, and I like shoes,” Stevens said, going on to blame Biden’s focus on overseas issues rather than domestic policy.
“I don’t think Biden’s paying a lot of attention to the economy,” she told The Post.
“He’s paying more attention to what’s happening internationally than what’s going on right here in New York. He’s paying a lot of attention to Ukraine — that’s where all the money’s going,” she added.
During her “Inside Politics” show last week, host Dana Bash provided some sobering facts about Biden based on a brutal new survey from the network.
“There is no way to spin this. CNN reads the country’s mood right now and finds that America is deeply unhappy with Joe Biden. Most Democratic voters hope for change at the top of the ticket, and Americans don’t take the president and his word when he talks about his son Hunter,” she said as the show opened.
“Our new poll has important new takeaways about 2024. There is deep-rooted dissatisfaction with the incumbent and the direction he is taking the country. There are even deeper doubts about if Mr. Biden is up to the job again,” she added.
