Slowing Growth In The U.S. Economy Is Boosting Fears That “Bidenomics” Is Even Worse Than Many Have Already Feared

BIDEN’S ECONOMIC POLICES HAVE DEVASTATED THE U.S. ECONOMY

• April’s Q1 GDP report revealed what Americans have been noticing for months: the U.S. economy is slowing and leading to growing fears of stagflation.
  • In Q1, GDP grew at a 1.6 percent pace, “less than half the pace of the previous quarter and far slower than economists had predicted.”
  • According to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, we should all “be worried” about stagflation, and Bidenflation being higher for longer.   
  • The worst-case scenario for “Bidenomics” is being realized as the U.S. economy continues to slow while inflation stays elevated — leading to a phenomenon known as stagflation.
    • The term stagflation is a reminder of the Carter administration when the U.S. suffered from stagnated economic growth, high unemployment, and high inflation.
• The latest Consumer Price Index data showed that year-over-year inflation increased in March to 3.5 percent – twice the rate compared to when Biden took office and higher than expected.
  •  Inflation has been at or above 3 percent for 36 straight months, well above the Fed's average target of 2 percent.
  • Core consumer prices – stripping out food and energy – rose by 3.8 percent, also above expectations.
• Prices have risen by 19.4 percent since Biden took office – with Americans still reeling from the lasting effects of inflation.
  • On a year-over-year basis, inflation under Biden has averaged 5.5 percent – more than double the level of inflation seen under any of the last four presidents.
  • Groceries are up 21.1 percent, rent is up 20.9 percent, and electricity is up 28.3 percent since Biden took office.
• With persistent inflation having eaten away at wage gains, more and more Americans are struggling financially.
  • Bidenflation outpaced wages for a majority of Biden’s presidency – both year-over-year real average hourly earnings and real average weekly earnings were negative for 25 months.
• Real wages remain lower than when Biden first took office.
  • Inflation-adjusted average weekly earnings were $397.90 when Biden took office and are now $382.20 – the BLS adjusts to 1982-1984 dollars – meaning Americans have seen a 3.9 percent pay cut under Biden.
    • Under President Trump, real average weekly wages rose 8.2 percent.

BIDEN WAS WARNED ABOUT INFLATIONARY SPENDING

• Biden was warned, even by liberal economists, that his reckless spending would fuel inflation:
  • In February 2021, Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers: “Macroeconomic stimulus on a scale closer to World War II levels than normal recession levels will set off inflationary pressures of a kind we have not seen in a generation.”
  • In March 2021, Former Obama economic advisor Steven Rattner: “The original sin” was passing the $1.9 trillion, which has “contributed materially to today’s inflation levels.”
  • In May 2021, Former Obama economist Jason Furman: Biden's spending is “too big ... don't know any economist” who supported that much.
  • In December 2021, Biden's Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen: Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus was one of the “factors that are involved in inflation.”
• Liberal economists were not alone in pointing to Biden’s spending as the source of Bidenflation.
  • Marc Goldwein of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: “We put gasoline on the fire. That’s basically what the [$1.9 trillion stimulus] did.”
  • In 2022, a reportfrom the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found that Biden’s $1.9 trillion “stimulus” fueled inflation.
• Now The New York Times is even acknowledging that Biden’s deficit spending is “driving up prices.”
  • I.M.F. officials have also warned that Biden’s fiscal policies are adding about a half a percentage point to the national inflation rate and raising “short-term risks to the disinflation process.”

BIDEN PERSISTED IN SPENDING OVER $11 TRILLION TAXPAYER DOLLARS

• Since taking office, Biden has overseen $11 trillion in new spending.
• The $11 trillion includes, but is not limited to:
  • $1.9 trillion: American Rescue Plan
  • $745 billion: Inflation Reduction Act
  • $625 billion: Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act
• $11 trillion in new spending breaks down to roughly $87,484 per U.S. household.
• Biden’s latest FY 2025 budget proposes adding more than $16 trillion to our public debt.
• Biden’s regulations have cost American taxpayers nearly $1.37 trillion.
  • This is 45 times the regulatory costs accumulated under President Trump and almost five times the regulatory costs added under Obama.
  • The mostly costly of Biden’s regulations was the EPA tailpipe vehicle emissions rule, which cost $870 billion.
  • On average, each of Biden’s regulations costs over $1.5 billion.
• Biden’s executive actions have cost American taxpayers over $2 trillion.
  • All of which have been done unilaterally, without the approval of Congress.
• Biden has increased the national debt by $6.83 trillion since taking office.
  • This equates to $20,504 more debt per person or $51,993 more debt per household.
• Biden’s wasteful spending includes:
  • More than $1 trillion in student loan cancellations.
  • $80 billion for the IRS to hire 87,000 agents.
    • After Republicans worked to reign in billions, Biden’s most recent budget proposed giving an additional $104.3 billion to an already bloated IRS.
  • $2.5 billion to house illegal immigrants.
  • $7.5 billion for 500,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2030.
    • More than 2 years since this money has been allocated, only 7 EV charging stations are operations across 4 states.
  • $7,500 tax credits for luxury electric cars.
    • The IRA’s credits for EVs and charging infrastructure will cost $180 billion over the next decade.
  • $1.3 billion in stimulus checks to more than 1.1 million prisoners.
  • More than $130 billion in aid to Ukraine.

DEMOCRATS’ RESPONSE TO THE INFLATION CRISIS BIDEN CREATED: MORE INFLATIONARY SPENDING

• As working-class families struggle to make ends meet thanks to inflation, voters know Democrats are to blame for rising prices.
• In 2021, Biden and Democrats passed their inflation-fueling $1.9 trillion "stimulus," which even liberal economists admit fueled inflation.  
• In 2022, every single Democrat voted to pass the Bidenflation Scam, which experts say will worsen inflation and raise taxes on working-class Americans.
  • Studies from the Tax Foundation, Penn Wharton Budget Model, Moody's, and the Congressional Budget Office all found that the bill will either make inflation worse or do basically nothing to bring down inflation.
  • The Tax Foundation concluded that the Bidenflation Scam Act will "worsen inflation especially in the first four" years.
• Biden recently unveiled his FY 2025 budget – a $7.3 trillion spending spree chock full of wasteful spending and the largest tax hike in history.

AS A RESULT, AMERICANS’ FINANCES ARE BEING DECIMATED

• Americans are suffering from the lasting effects of Biden’s historic inflation, with many struggling to pay their debts, save for retirement, or afford rent.
  • 78 percent of Americans reporting having to live paycheck to paycheck in 2023, up 6 percent from the previous year. 
  • 53 percent of Americans are behind on saving for retirement.
• The personal savings rate was 3.6 percent in February, well below a decades long average of roughly 8.9 percent.
• Bidenomics has cost the middle class at least $2.4 trillion since March 2022.
  • The average middle-class household has lost over $33,000 in real wealth in just the past year.
• Americans are increasingly borrowing to cover daily expenses, finding their regular income is no longer enough to make ends meet.
  • Total household debt is at an all-time high of $17.5 trillion.
  • Credit card debt recently hit a new record high of $1.13 trillion, while a quarter of Americans are putting less money towards paying down their debts.
  • 36 percent of Americans have more credit card debt than emergency savings while 40 percent could not cover an emergency expense of $1,000.
  • JP Morgan predicts that nearly all Americans will be worse off financially by mid-2024 than they were pre-pandemic.
• America’s seniors are being left behind as Social Security payments are failing to keep up with inflation.
  • According to the Senior Citizens League, Biden’s economy is forcing seniors to spend their emergency savings, carry debt on credit cards or apply for assistance programs.
  • According to the Social Security Administration, 42% of elderly women and 37% of elderly men rely on the monthly payments for at least half of their income.
• Fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s are serving fewer low-income Americans as menu prices continue to increase.

THE COST OF LIVING IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY UNAFFORDABLE

• The Fed has hiked interest rates 11 times since March 2022 – now at their highest level in 22 years – making it harder for families to buy a home, finance a car, pay off debt, and perform various other financial transactions.
  • Thanks to higher interest rates, the monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home is twice as much as when Biden took office.
  • Rent affordability is the worst on record, with a new high of 22.4 million renter households considered cost-burdened.
  • Biden’s favorite economist – Moody’s Mark Zandi – said that purchasing a home or a car right now is “completely unaffordable for the typical American household.”
• U.S. average gas prices currently sit at $3.62 per gallon, which is more than $1.20 per gallon higher than when Biden became president.
  • Under Biden, the price of a gallon of gas has been above $3 for 1,064 days in a row. 
• Americans have lost over $3,700 paying higher energy costs since Biden took office.

BUT WHILE MOST AMERICANS SUFFER, BIDEN’S GREEN ALLIES ARE BOOMING

• Democrat megadonors have seen their wealth increase as a result of Biden’s “green energy” economy push.
  •  In 2023, Biden’s Energy Department announced $3 billion in loans in electric battery companies Redwood Materials and Ioneer, significantly raising the stock of public company Ioneer by 33 percent.
    • Redwood Materials and Ioneer are both backed by seed funding from Bill Gates and Laurene Powell Jobs, two major Democratic megadonors. 
    • In 2020, Gates sent $127 million to a liberal dark money network working to elect Democrats, while Powell Jobs gave left-wing candidates and political groups more than $2 million.
  • Billionaire climate activist and megadonor Tom Steyer, who hosted the Biden family for a vacation at his Lake Tahoe Mansion in 2023, has bragged about how his green energy investment firm will “take advantage of the financial incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act.”
  • In 2023, Biden awarded thousands of acres in public lands to solar energy company Intersect Power, whose CEO, Sheldon Kimber, donated $180,000 to Biden and helped him raise $3.2 million through two fundraising groups.
    • The Sierra Club and California Wilderness Coalition accused Intersect of sidestepping federal and state regulations to construct its solar energy project in the Mojave Desert.
• Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm owned up to $5 million in electric battery and vehicle manufacturer Proterra and served on its board as recently as 2021.
  • In April 2021, Kamala Harris visited Thomas Built Buses, which uses Proterra as its main supplier of electric vehicles, while Biden’s proposed American Jobs Plan would have invested $174 billion in the electric vehicle market.
  • Days later, Biden participated in a virtual visit to Proterra to promote his $2 trillion infrastructure proposal.
  • Granholm did not sell her holdings in Proterra until the end of May, providing her with net capital gains of $1.6 million.
• In January 2024, it was reported that Biden energy loan czar Jigar Shah was a major investor in green energy company Plug Power that is in advanced talks to receive a $1.5 billion loan from his office.
  • Shah has been hit with other accusations of cronyism as well – having headlined at least 10 paid dinners and events for loan-seeking companies hosted by Cleantech Leaders Roundtable.
  • Since Shah was named loan-office head, “companies connected to the trade association [Cleantech Leaders] have raked in cash from Shah’s office.”

AMERICANS ARE NOT HAPPY WITH BIDEN’S ECONOMY

• American families are seeing higher prices for virtually everything, and they know exactly who to blame: Biden and Democrats.
• A majority of Americans rate the economy as poor, according to a New York Times poll.
• Only 38 percent of voters rate the economy as good, compared to 65 percent under Trump, according to CBS News.
• 60 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Biden is handling inflation and 53 percent disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy, according to an Economist/YouGov poll.
• 60 percent of Americans believe the economy is on the wrong track, 58 percent think the economy is weak, and 54 percent say their current personal economic situation is underwater, according to a Harvard-Harris poll.
• Fewer than four in 10 registered voters say Biden deserves to be reelected, according to Gallup.