President Biden touted a “great American comeback story” during a visit to Racine, Wisconsin on Wednesday, but many Americans appear to disagree with his rosy economic assessment.
“Since I took office, we’ve added nearly 4,000 jobs in Racine. As I said earlier, we’ve added 178,000 in the state of Wisconsin,” Biden proclaimed. “The unemployment rate has hit a record low in Racine. Racine has seen some of the strongest new business growth in all of Wisconsin. And it’s only just beginning. We’re seeing a great American comeback story all across Wisconsin. And quite frankly, the entire country.”
However, the president’s remarks seem disconnected from the economic reality facing many Americans. As one voter lamented in a Fox interview, “Inflation’s horrible. I’m not better off today than I was four years ago…I would say that the economy is definitely worse than it was.”
Another worried, “I think it’s scary as young adults who are preparing to enter the real world. Like, how are we going to pay off our student loans? How are we eventually going to buy a house? I think the state of the country is really scary.”
Despite Biden’s claims of an economic “comeback,” hard data points to persistent financial struggles for American families. “Since Biden took over, groceries are up 21.1 percent. Energy is up 32.3 percent. Gasoline up 34.6 [percent]. Rent up 19.5 percent with no end in sight,” one critic noted in an interview with Fox News’ Charles Payne. “Inflation, Charles, is clearly a huge problem.”
The budgetary decisions of the Biden administration may be exacerbating the inflation crisis according to critics. “All of these things, the Inflation Reduction Act, all of these things that pump money into the economy, pick winners, pick losers. It just adds to the inflation problem,” said one commentator. “Every time he pumps money into the economy, it’s like throwing kerosene on a fire.”
With pandemic savings dwindling and credit card debt at a record $1.13 trillion as Americans struggle with rising costs, the disconnect between Biden’s rhetoric and economic realities on the ground appears to be widening. “Truth is, he’s going to have a hard time changing people’s minds until interest rates drop,” concluded one critic. “And he’s got no control over that one.”