President Biden is claiming that his administration has been responsible for the economy experiencing the “most robust recovery in modern history.” Ordinary Americans disagree. A Wall Street Journal-NORC poll found that more than 80% of Americans believe that the economy is in bad shape, and most are expecting it to get worse. With out-of-control inflation, financial instability, and a looming recession, Americans can’t be convinced that their president has saved the economy.
Economy better under Biden?
Biden claims that he inherited an economy ravaged by COVID and stagnated thanks to the policies of Donald Trump.
There isn’t much the president can safely latch onto in touting that great economic recovery, outside of exceptionally low unemployment numbers that he has often celebrated.
Polling proves that most Americans, while they may be working, continue to feel that the economy is in bad shape and that their own financial situations are increasingly precarious.
Bare unemployment numbers do very little to indicate economic health; many of those who lost jobs due to COVID and have since found new work are underemployed but the statistics the White House show off focus on quantity, not quality.
Wages are not keeping pace with inflation, another massive concern that most Americans are directly experiencing and that many expect will get much worse before it has any chance of getting better.
The current inflation trend is especially unsettling as it is primarily impacting gas, food, and other essentials that the ordinary citizen cannot do without.
At the time I took office about 16 months ago, the economy had stalled and COVID was out of control.
Today, thanks to the economic plan and the vaccination plan that my Administration put into action, America has achieved the most robust recovery in modern history.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 6, 2022
Americans pessimistic about economic situation
Biden has blamed everyone but himself for inflation, though he has generally preferred to avoid addressing the issue at all.
His administration repeatedly ignored the problem until it became unavoidable, at which point Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Republicans were blamed, rather than Biden’s own policies.
The situation is a nightmare for Biden, who is desperately trying to convince voters that the economy is in good shape while they struggle to afford food and rent.
The state of the economy could be devastating for the Democrats in November, and Biden’s assurances that the White House will handle the crisis haven’t inspired much more confidence than his assurances that he has already produced a great economic recovery.
The percentages of Americans despairing at their personal financial situations and at the state of the economy as a whole are higher than they have been in decades.
Economic anxieties are almost ubiquitous now across the political spectrum, and Biden’s boasts about his success in producing a post-Trump recovery become more untenable by the day.
