By the Republican National Committee

BIDENFLATION ISN'T GOING AWAY

  • The latest Consumer Price Index data shows year-over-year inflation, coming in higher than expected at 3.7 percent and remaining more than twice the rate compared to when Biden took office.
    <ul>
    <li>Core consumer prices – stripping out food and energy – rose by <a href="https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SA0L1E?output_view=pct_12mths">4.1 percent</a>.</li>
    </ul>
    </li>
    <li>Inflation has risen by <a href="https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SA0">17.7 percent</a> since Biden took office – with Americans still reeling from the lasting effects of inflation.
    <ul>
    <li>On a year-over-year basis, inflation under Biden has <a href="https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SA0?output_view=pct_12mths">averaged 6 percent</a> – more than double the level of inflation seen under any of the last four presidents.</li>
    </ul>
    </li>
    <li>With persistent inflation having eaten away at wage gains, more and more Americans are struggling financially.
    <ul>
    <li>Bidenflation outpaced wages for a majority of Biden's presidency – year-over-year real average hourly earnings were negative for <a href="https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0500000013?output_view=pct_12mths">25 months</a> and real average weekly earnings were negative for <a href="https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0500000012?output_view=pct_12mths">26 months</a>.</li>
    </ul>
    </li>
    <li>Real wages remain <a href="https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0500000013">lower</a> than when Biden first took office.
    <ul>
    <li>Inflation-adjusted average hourly wages were $11.39 when Biden took office and are now $11.02 – the BLS adjusts to 1982 -1984 dollars – meaning Americans have seen a <a href="https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0500000013">3.2 percent pay cut</a> under Biden.</li>
    <li>Real average hourly earnings fell <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/realer.pdf">0.2 percent</a> in September.</li>
    </ul>
    </li>
    <li>According to the latest Census data, U.S. inflation-adjusted household income fell last year by the most in <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-12/us-inflation-adjusted-incomes-fell-2-3-in-2022-from-prior-year?srnd=undefined">over a decade</a>.
    <ul>
    <li>Median household income has fallen for <a href="https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-279.pdf#page=22">two straight years</a> under Biden and remains below pre-pandemic levels.</li>
    </ul>
    </li>

MORE AMERICANS ARE STRUGGLING FINANCIALLY

  • Americans are suffering from the lasting effects of Biden's historic inflation, with many unable to pay bills, save for retirement, or afford rent. 
    <ul>
    <li>​<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/27/60percent-of-americans-are-still-living-paycheck-to-paycheck.html">60 percent</a> of Americans report living paycheck-to-paycheck.</li>
    <li><a href="https://www.bankrate.com/retirement/retirement-savings-survey/">56 percent</a> of Americans say they're not on track to comfortably retire.</li>
    </ul>
    </li>
    <li>The personal savings rate was <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/03/americans-are-saving-less-in-2023-im-concerned-top-economist-says.html">3.9 percent</a> in August, well below a decades long average of roughly 8.9 percent.&nbsp;</li>
    <li>Bidenomics has cost the middle class <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-bidenomics-middle-class-economic-anxiety-2024-election/">$2.4 trillion</a> since March 2022.
    <ul>
    <li>The average middle-class household has <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-bidenomics-middle-class-economic-anxiety-2024-election/">lost over $33,000 in real wealth</a> in just the past year.</li>
    </ul>
    </li>
    <li>Low-income Americans are being hit the hardest by inflation according to studies by the&nbsp;<a href="https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2023/01/inflation-disparities-by-race-and-income-narrow/">New York Fed</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dallasfed.org/research/economics/2023/0110">Dallas Fed</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aei.org/opportunity-social-mobility/report-reviews-how-inflation-hurts-americans-with-limited-incomes-the-most/">the Urban Institute</a>.</li>
    <li>Americans are increasingly borrowing to cover daily expenses, finding their regular income is no longer enough to make ends meet.
    <ul>
    <li>Credit card, auto loan, and consumer loan delinquencies are at their&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/30/delinquencies-credit-auto-loans/">highest&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/08/economy-recession-consumer-debt-loans/">levels</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/15/credit-loan-delinquency-2023-above-pre-pandemic-levels">since the Great Recession</a>&nbsp;— and could go even higher.</li>
    </ul>
    </li>

THE COST OF LIVING IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY UNAFFORDABLE

AMERICANS ARE NOT HAPPY WITH BIDEN'S ECONOMY

  • American families are seeing higher prices for virtually everything, and they know exactly who to blame: Biden and Democrats.
  • Just 33 percent of Americans approve of Biden's handling of the economy, according to an AP-NORC  poll.
  • 55 percent of Americans believe the economy is getting worse and 64 percent believe the country is on the wrong track, according to an Economist/YouGov poll.
  • 78 percent of Americans say the economy is in bad shape, according to the latest Fox News survey.
  • Half of Americans say their financial situation is worsening while only 35 percent of Americans approve of Biden's handling of inflation, according to a recent Harvard CAPS-Harris poll.
  • Republicans now have a 21-point advantage on which political party better handles the economy – the largest lead in NBC News polling history.

DEMOCRATS' RESONSE TO THE INFLATION CRISIS BIDEN CREATED: MORE INFLATIONARY SPENDING

REPUBLICAN-LED STATES ARE DRIVING JOB GROWTH