FOUR YEARS INTO BIDEN’S INFLATIONARY PRESIDENCY, PRICES HAVE RISEN AN AVERAGE OF 20.65%, HITTING EVERYDAY CONSUMER GOODS HARD
- Inflation hit a 40-year high under President Biden, affecting everything from groceries, to gas, to housing. (The Associated Press: US inflation at new 40-year high as price increases spread – 6/10/22)
- Since President Biden took office:
- All prices have risen an average of 20.65%.
- Grocery prices, measured as “food at home,” have increased by 22.32%.
- Energy prices have increased by 30.54%.
- Gasoline prices have increased by 30.50%.
- Electricity prices have increased by 28.55%.
- Natural gas prices have increased by 33.30%.
- Rent prices have increased by 24.19%.
- Car repair and maintenance prices have increased by 34.33%. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index – accessed 1/15/25; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index – December 2024 – 1/15/25)
(CNBC: Here’s the inflation breakdown for December 2024 — in one chart – 1/15/25)
DEMOCRATS’ RECKLESS SPENDING SPREES SUPERCHARGED INFLATION
- “Nearly four years ago, the Biden administration and Congressional Democrats made a $1.9 trillion bet in the form of the American Rescue Plan. They lost, as it contributed to a surge in inflation that fueled massive voter discontent and Donald Trump’s return to the White House.” (Axios: Democrats’ $1.9 trillion bet that blew up – 11/10/24)
- Former Obama administration counselor to the Treasury secretary Steven Rattner called the American Rescue Plan “the original sin” of inflation. (The New York Times: Steven Rattner: I Warned the Democrats About Inflation – 11/16/21)
- The Penn-Wharton Budget Model increased its estimate of the cost of the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate and energy provisions from $384.9 billion in August 2022 to $1.045 trillion in April 2023 – a 271% increase. (Penn-Wharton Budget Model: Update: Budgetary Cost of Climate and energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act – 4/27/23)
- Former Obama administration economist Jason Furman: “I can’t think of any mechanism by which [the Inflation Reduction Act] would have brought down inflation to date.” (PBS: Inflation is down, but the Inflation Reduction Act likely doesn’t deserve the credit – 8/16/23)
WHILE DEMOCRATS TOOK A VICTORY LAP, FAMILIES STRUGGLED TO MAKE ENDS MEET
- As Americans struggled to make ends meet, Biden touted his economic policies as “Bidenomics,” and proclaimed that “Bidenomics is working.” (White House: Remarks by President Biden on Bidenomics – 6/28/23)
- Ahead of Biden’s final State of the Union address last year, Democrat Leader Schumer took a victory lap on the economy and said “Democrats’ agenda is delivering.” (Sen. Schumer: Remarks – 3/7/24)
- Credit card delinquency was at 8.8% of balances in Q3 of 2024, up from 5.12% of balances during the last quarter of the first Trump administration. “In general, this has been a bigger issue for people in the bottom half of the income spectrum,” said Moshe Orenbuch, an analyst at TD Cowen. (Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Household Debt Rose Modestly; Delinquency Rates Remain Elevated – 11/13/24; The Wall Street Journal: Americans Are Falling Behind on Their Bills. Wall Street Is Alarmed. – 9/14/24)
- In July 2024, one-third of American workers said they’re living paycheck to paycheck and have virtually no money for savings. (CBS News: Inflation is cooling, yet many Americans say they’re living paycheck to paycheck – 7/15/24)
- Nearly 30% of all U.S. households in 2024 said they spent more than 95% of their disposable income on necessitates such as housing, groceries, and utilities. “That share is higher, at around 35%, for households making less than $50,000 a year.” (CNN: Low-income Americans are struggling. It could get worse – 12/21/24)
AMERICANS VOTED TO TURN THE PAGE, REJECTING “BIDENOMICS”
- A majority of Americans in a January 2025 Gallup poll believed the U.S. lost ground on the economy under President Biden. (Gallup: Americans See Little Progress in Key Areas Under Biden – 1/14/25)
- According to The Wall Street Journal, “Roughly 40% of voters said the economy was their top issue, far outstripping any other issue, and those voters favored Donald Trump by 60% to 38%.” (The Wall Street Journal: How Trump Won the Economy-Is-Everything Election – 11/6/24)
- According to an Associated Press VoteCast survey, 96% of voters said “high prices for gas, groceries and other goods” were a factor in their vote. (The Wall Street Journal: How Trump Won the Economy-Is-Everything Election – 11/6/24)
- Two-thirds of voters rated the economy as “not so good” or “poor,” and out of the voters who viewed the economy negatively, 69% voted for Trump in the 2024 election. (The Washington Post: Voter anger over economy boosts Trump in 2024, baffling Democrats – 11/6/24)