OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Real economic growth has been steady for months, and inflation has been trending downward from historic highs during President Joe Biden’s first couple of years in office, but that is nothing to celebrate for the vast majority of working Americans, according to a new report.
CNN noted in a Saturday report that behind these positive economic indicators, “a frustrating reality persists: Life is far too expensive for far too many.”
The country is grappling with a long-standing cost of living dilemma, spanning from historically unaffordable housing markets and budget-straining daycare expenses to elevated car prices, much of that driven by sky-high interest and mortgage rates.
In short, “Bidnenomics” — the nickname the White House has given to Biden’s economic policies — isn’t working for most Americans.
“Parents of young children are making difficult choices to afford child care — or they’re opting to evade it by dropping out of the workforce altogether,” CNN said. “Parents are also struggling to buy bigger cars to haul around their growing families while simultaneously socking away some money in college savings plans.
“For too many, the American Dream feels like an illusion,” the outlet noted further.
Lotfi Karoui, chief credit analyst at Goldman Sachs, told CNN regarding elevated home prices: “If you’re already owning a home, this feels great. Home price gains have made your balance sheet stronger. That’s a great line of defense in case something goes wrong. The issue is the entry barrier for new buyers has rarely been as high as today.”
Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, added: “The American dream is being taken away from the younger generation by the housing affordability challenges.”
He went on to chide the U.S. Federal Reserve for its aggressive rate hikes to combat inflation — which doesn’t seem to be working, given that in January, the Fed’s key inflation metric rose 0.4 percent, or 2.8 percent from the previous year.
The ongoing economic malaise is definitely affecting Biden’s reelection chances, as more voters in key states believe his likely opponent, former President Donald Trump did a better job with he economy while he was in office.
For months now, respondents in poll after poll have said they believe that Trump, by far, would be a better steward of the U.S. economy, which soared during his first term before the pandemic. And now, a recent Financial Times/University of Michigan Ross School of Business has also found that Trump, by double digits, is preferred by voters when it comes to economic matters.
“Across the board, more chose Trump as the individual they believe would be better to handle the economy — 42 percent. Just 31 percent said the same of Biden, putting him 11 points behind Trump on that pressing issue. Another 21 percent said they neither trust Trump nor Biden on the issue of the economy,” Breitbart News reported last month, citing the polling data.
Furthermore, the poll found that just 27 percent currently rate the economy either “good” or “excellent,” and less than half, or 36 percent, approve of the way Biden has handled the economy, which has seen record-high inflation rates for nearly all consumer goods along with skyrocketing interest rates during his term.
The Financial Times noted further:
The poll pointed to the sharp partisan divides that are weighing on Biden’s approval ratings. Seventy-one percent of Democrats said they approved of Biden’s handling of the economy, compared with just 5 percent of Republican voters.
But the survey also laid bare differences between different demographic groups. Trump continues to enjoy significant strength among lower-income Americans, suggesting the recent boom is not being felt equally across the economic divide.
According to a new Bloomberg/Morning Consult survey Wisconsin poll released earlier in February, 94 percent of registered voters said the economy will be a “very” or “somewhat” important factor in their decision for president.
