If you only paid attention to the mainstream press, you'd be inundated with a constant stream of articles ensuring you how great the economy is. "Look at the jobs market," the headlines have blared while promoting the supposed historic resiliency of our present moment. The full-court press has been so strong that the Biden administration has even taken to labeling it "Bidenomics," a marketing ploy that has proven less than ideal.
What looks good on paper, though, is often not representative of the real-world impact. Thus, Joe Biden's current economic malaise, for which Americans are assured they should be incredibly thankful, is hitting American families far harder than Paul Krugman's latest cherry-picked bar graph indicates.
Shockingly, if you ignore how much things actually cost across the board, you can spin a rosy picture in which a greatly delayed slowing of the rate of inflation is actually an incredible accomplishment. But back in the real world, this reality still remains.
But, if you go from January 20, 2021, when Biden took office, the aggregated inflation rate was at 2.749 percent. That means that the aggregated inflation rate has jumped 21.151 percent since he became the president.
Since Biden took office, the compounded or aggregated inflation rate, whichever term you prefer, is over 21 percent. That means that Americans are paying 21 percent more today to live the same way they were living just two and a half years ago. It's hard to express how much of a shock to the system that has been for many families. Despite claims of rising wages (which have not kept up with baseline inflation), the vast majority of people have not received a 21 percent raise over that time period.
This is where favored statistics run up against the cold, hard reality of real-world outcomes. Most wage growth that has occurred has come at the bottom end of the scale, with entry-level jobs seeing increases due to a lack of labor. What does that do for the average father working a middle-class job trying to provide for his wife and children, though? The answer is absolutely nothing.
The same is true for the supposedly strong jobs market. Again, because of a labor shortage largely caused by misguided COVID policies, there is an abundance of entry-level jobs available. Many of those are being filled by people who hold multiple jobs as a way to make ends meet. Is that a win for Americans? Is that what we should be striving for? I'd suggest it's not.
Perhaps the worst detriment to attaining the American dream, though, is the current interest rate situation. Not only has it made owning a vehicle, a requirement in most of the United States, more expensive, but it's also made buying a house nearly impossible. What has historically been the safest way for American families to grow their wealth? That would be the ownership of property. Under Biden, mortgage rates have topped eight percent. That translates to around $1000 more a month for a $400,000 house than just two years prior.
Again, does that sound sustainable? Does that sound like what we should be striving for? Yes, the year-over-year inflation rate is down. Where else was it supposed to go after nearly hitting 10 percent? The cumulative effects of "Bidenomics" are here to stay, though, and they matter. Press outlets and politicians who ignore those effects are being disingenuous.
Here's the truth that most Americans are dealing with: They are simply treading water. Savings rates are down, the stock market is stagnant, and good job opportunities are few and far between. Those three things add up to an inability to grow wealth and plan for the future, locking people into menial jobs with little chance of advancement. In short, Biden has killed the American dream.