Biden Administration Believes Economy Stronger Than Ever

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host 

Biden Administration: Economy has never been stronger...

but...

according to https://www.aei.org/op-eds/the-numbers-dont-lie-the-us-economy-is-in-trouble/

• Economic Growth declined by 1.5% in the first quarter.
• Inflation is at a forty year high
• Mortgage rates have increased at the fastest pace since 1994
• Stock Market has declined by twenty percent since the first of the year
• We are experiencing supply chain disruptions never seen before

according to https://tradesmith.com/weekend-spotlight/these-red-flag-charts-show-the-economy-is-in-trouble/

• Food price increases are dominating the consumer psyche
• Rising interest rates are scaring consumers away from big-ticket purchases
• Overall inflation fears are accelerating out of control
• Gas prices are crushing the consumer
• Consumers are starting to fall behind on their payments again

according to https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/05/31/bidens-inflation-plan-filled-with-inaccuracies-warped-analysis-and-flawed-solutions

• While blaming COVID from the start of his presidency, "recovery was well underway in those states shunning demands for continued societal shutdowns"
• The Federal Reserve State Coincident Indexes—an approximation of state gross domestic product—vividly illustrates how the economic recovery varies among states. This index suggests economic output at the end of 2020 was actually greater than pre-pandemic in Utah, Missouri, Idaho, Nebraska, Alaska, South Dakota, Mississippi, and Georgia—notably states without crushing, long-lasting shutdowns.
• By the end of 2020 in places where the lockdown was severe: El Centro, California, saw 18% unemployed, and Los Angeles suffered 10.2% unemployment. Across New York City, draconian restrictions and an army of compliance officers pushed tens of thousands of businesses out of business, resulting in 8.8% unemployment by the end of 2020.  Meanwhile in places where the lockdown was minor or non-existent unemployment rates were have been lower: Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Utah saw unemployment at the end of 2020 at 3% or less. The statewide unemployment rate of under 4% in Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, and Vermont contrasted sharply with rates at least twice as high in California, Hawaii, Nevada, and New York. Overall, in December 2020, the 10 states with the fewest restrictions in place averaged 4.7% unemployment—while the 10 states with the most restrictions averaged 7.1% unemployment.
• Prices are rising at the fastest rate in more than 40 years, gasoline just reached an all-time high, and housing costs have hit all-time inflation-adjusted records...the cost of living is rising faster than wages—resulting in a very real decline in the standard of living for tens of millions of families. Consumers are expending their savings and increasingly relying on credit card debt in order to purchase raw essentials. Real average weekly earnings are down $47 per week or $2,444 year since Biden took office. For the average family with two working adults, that’s $4,888 per year per family in lost real income.
• Biden promised to “take every practical step to make things more affordable for families”—specifically tackling energy costs. He continues to blame the surge in fuel prices largely on the war in Ukraine and the sanctions on Russia. But oil prices were surging long before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.  Killing the Keystone XL oil pipeline, opposing other natural gas pipeline projects, blocking much exploration and drilling on federal lands, and targeting fossil fuel companies for extinction threatens to suppress supply and energy security for decades to come.  Unleashing our energy sector by ending the war on fossil fuels is the solution to the energy crisis. But rather than put a pause on his administration’s war on affordable fossil fuels, Biden called on Congress to pass “clean energy tax credits and investments.” This would divert limited resources to cronyist endeavors, further raise energy costs, and require yet more deficit spending.  Astonishingly, Biden boasted of the release of oil from the Strategic National Reserves—while ignoring that this release over six months represents barely eight days’ worth of domestic oil consumption.
• The primary factor behind the supply chain issues are the ill-advised COVID-19 restrictions globally. Erratic, unpredictable, arbitrary decisions by government bureaucrats made planning even for the short term nearly impossible.  Domestic government policies are compounding global shipping problems—including California’s phase-out of older diesel trucks. Organized labor in California—with some of the least efficient ports on earth—resists modernization and for months refused to fully expand its hours to alleviate the shipping backlog.  Long-standing government policies that limit how goods can be transported have exacerbated port delays. In particular, the Jones Act mandates that any goods shipped by water between two points in the United States must be transported on a U.S.-built, U.S.-flagged vessel with a crew that is at least 75% American—potentially driving up shipping costs on average by 270%.
• The Fed more than doubled its balance sheet from just $4.2 trillion in March 2020 to nearly $9 trillion today as M1 money supply jumped nearly fivefold from $4.3 trillion to almost $21 trillion. Politicians approved the trillions of spending and bailouts while the Fed financed it.  And Biden demands even more.  [This then leads to the deflation of the dollar's value].

 

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