In the administration’s haste to put out a “this is not a recession” message, they rolled out the recently COVID-19-recovered President Biden. Many COVID patients report residual brain fog, and it may be the virus that made Biden’s foggier than usual. During a discussion with his economic advisors, he essentially called Americans ignorant for not understanding all the Biden administration has done for them and treating us like ingrates for not appreciating the handouts we received.
Biden taking credit for keeping teachers on the job and schools open was pretty galling. But it only got worse. In response to one question, Biden said he takes consumer confidence in the economy very seriously. Then he pivoted. “There’s reason to be down, but I started thinking about it. And Brian, you and I were talking about it just a little bit. The first year, we were able with the rescue plan, we were able to send them a check for eight grand,” he said. “I mean a check. Beyond that, by the way, there was more than that.”
It appears Biden is talking about the American Rescue Plan. The legislation was passed in early March 2021 and helped fire up America’s current inflationary conditions. The bill provided Economic Impact Payments of up to $1,400 for eligible individuals or $2,800 for married couples filing jointly, plus $1,400 for each qualifying dependent. So a married couple with four dependents or a single parent with five would have received $8,400.
Anyone else received less than $8,000. In 2021, 4.79 million families had three or more children under 18. By contrast, over 50 million households have no children, and 14.2 million have just one. Only a fraction of U.S. households were eligible for a stimulus check under the American Rescue Plan in the ballpark of the number Biden threw out.
Related: White House Attempts to Redefine ‘Recession’
While there were other funding rounds under President Trump, Biden was explicitly talking about the assistance his administration provided. Then he lectured Americans about not being grateful enough for what he did for them. “If you’re making $120 grand and you get a check for $8 grand, that’s a lot of money. So it saved a lot of people from getting thrown out of their homes and rental housing and a whole range of things,” Biden asserted.
Did it, though? The income caps to receive funds exclude most Americans making $120,000. The legislation capped payouts for single Americans at $80,000. Heads of households did not receive any payments at an income of $120,000, and married couples filing jointly received no funds if they had a gross income over $160,000. In 2020, only 25% of households reported an income of $120,000. The CDC provided renters with an eviction moratorium that did not end until August 2021.
Still, Biden went on. “But I started thinking about it. Just as somebody who was raised as a middle-class kid. One year, even though you didn’t have the job you have now, even though you didn’t get a raise that year. The difference between having a job, having a five percent raise or whatever, three, five, seven, or whatever it happens to be. in the face of inflation. The price at the pump, though that’s down every day so far.” Perhaps Biden is trying to tout his excellent job market or the national security threat he created by throwing open the valves on our strategic oil reserves.
While unemployment is low, the percentage of people no longer participating in the workforce is exceptionally high. In April 2020, the labor force participation rate hit its lowest mark since 1969, thanks to pandemic shutdowns. Under Joe Biden, it has not reached pre-pandemic levels. Right before lockdowns, 152.5 million people were employed. In June 2022, 151.9 million jobs were available. The Biden administration has never recovered the number of jobs available before April 2020. The labor market is tight because fewer people are participating.
Real wage growth is when salary increases surpass the inflation rate, which last happened during the Trump administration. Last month’s inflation rate exceeded 9%, and estimates for wage increases in 2022 are an average of 3.9%. Average increases have hovered around 3% for years. The average American worker’s salary is worth less now than it was at the beginning of 2021. Even though employees are making more, their salary has less buying power.
This little snippet could be Joe Biden at his most offensive. He does not know or understand the impact of the legislation he signed and wants to tout. He has not been a kid, let alone a middle-class kid, in 65 years. He started living off the government dole and trading his influence for payola in January 1973. The fact he even tries to speak as “Scranton Joe” gets more offensive with every email that emerges from his son Hunter’s laptop. And when Americans hear Biden is selling our strategic reserves to a Chinese company linked to his son, the First Felon.
Biden concluded, “But you know, It’s like whoa, I feel worse off. But then again, I didn’t get a check for eight grand from the government, among other things. Does that make any sense to anybody?” No Joe. It doesn’t. It makes no sense to the 64% of Americans who disapprove of how you are handling the economy and the 75% who think the country is on the wrong track. And telling those voters that they are not grateful enough could be the worst communication strategy yet.
LISTEN to Biden’s full remarks here:
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