‘Things Have Gotten Worse Since Trump:’ Voters Say ‘Bidenomics’ Not Working

President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has tried to build enthusiasm across the country on his economic record and the success of “Bidenomics,” but voters on both sides of the aisle are confounded, saying they haven’t experienced any financial relief.

“I voted for Biden but I don’t know what he’s talking about when he says ‘Bidenomics,’ or whatever it is, is working,” Sabrina Jones of Denver, Colorado, told The Epoch Times. “Prices aren’t going down for me or anybody I know.”

Ms. Jones isn’t the only American with a pessimistic view of the economy.  

“I feel like things have gotten worse since Trump, and I don’t think they’re going to get better,” Ms. Jones said.

The reason many Americans have a dour outlook on the economy shouldn’t take anyone by surprise, senior economic analyst for Bankrate Mark Hamrick told The Epoch Times. “In a word: Inflation.”

“Even as inflation has peaked and the year-over-year and month-over-month numbers are coming down, prices have yet to really come down, particularly when looking at pre-pandemic levels.”

Mr. Hamrick added that while the unemployment rate remains low, “historically high and sustained inflation” does a lot more damage to the economy.

“It does appear that 2024 will be a better year for consumers from an inflation standpoint, but a big question mark is associated with just how much the job market will further moderate. Hiring is slowing, the unemployment rate is rising and the numbers of people filing for and receiving unemployment assistance are surging,” he said.

President: Bidenomics ‘The American Dream’

Despite the mounting evidence that President Biden’s economic policies have not resulted in immediate relief for many American voters, he has still made it a central message in his re-election campaign.

“If you want to know if I’m better off, take a look under my Christmas tree, if I can afford one this year,” Matt Price, a Republican from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, told The Epoch Times. “I think Biden’s out of touch with reality.”

However, Mr. Hamrick says it’s more complicated than that. 

“There’s the old phrase, ‘Your results may vary,’” he said. “I don’t actually think there’s a disconnect. It is more the fact that the macro data cannot and doesn’t perfectly correlate with every individual’s or household’s personal finances. As Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has said, the economy doesn’t work well for anybody when inflation is high. That’s why the Fed is so focused on the part of its dual mandate of stable prices, with the other being maximum employment.”

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who was promoted to the job by President Biden, recently pointed out that while inflation is dropping, that’s not the same as deflation, where prices are going down. Instead, it’s disinflation, where prices are slowly increasing.

But economists like Mr. Hamrick say if the president wants to take credit when Americans are doing well he should also take the blame when they aren’t.

“The problem I have with the branding concept of ‘Bidenomics’ is that the economy is more complicated with so many more inputs than what a given administration can do or actually does,” he said. “Even the authoritarian government of China is not able to do all that it wants or needs to do to lift its economy out of the doldrums.  The risk for the president is that if he seeks to take credit, then it is only fair that he should also accept some blame. This is similar to the problem with President Trump seeming to take credit for stock market gains.” 

“Ultimately, it will be up to voters to decide about the relationship between the performance of the economy, the relationship of their personal finances, and who the best candidate is to align with their priorities,” Mr. Hamrick said.