The Patriot Post® · If the Economy Is So Awesome, Why Are People Down About it?

If the Donald Trump era brought about the infestation of Leftmedia opinion screeds disguised as “fact-checks,” the Joe Biden era has caused a new genre of “journalism” to flourish. We might borrow from the “LEGO Movie” for an appropriately pithy name: Call it the “Everything Is Awesome” genre.

Last October, we marveled that Biden blamed his allies in the media for sour public opinion about the economy. As cross-examination, we presented a whole list of condescending media articles repeating essentially the same line: “The economy is awesome; why don’t you believe it?”

Well, maybe because everything is not awesome.

Nevertheless, they persisted. The Wall Street Journal’s news desk produced the latest in this media genre this week, an anecdote-heavy article titled “Why Americans Are So Down on a Strong Economy.” We read the whole 2,500-word article so you don’t have to, and we’ll summarize it this way: Other than some high prices, the economy is awesome, but people just have a bad gut feeling and worry about the future, which won’t help Joe Biden in November. Go figure.

To be fair, the article doesn’t go to the usual Leftmedia extreme of browbeating Americans for not believing media narratives. But the underlying assumption is the same.

While the Journal found some everyday Americans in different walks of life and different states to explain why they feel uneasy, we’ll point to some hard numbers in the news just this week.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports that collective credit card debt has reached $1.13 trillion. That debt has soared since 2021 when it was $770 billion, and it’s risen $50 billion in the last three months alone. Why? CNBC says, “Higher prices have largely caused consumers to spend down their savings and lean on credit cards to make ends meet.”

Not to worry, blared a CNN headline, “Another shockingly good jobs report shows America’s economy is booming.” Except wages are just now barely keeping up with inflation, the unemployment rate is higher than it was a year ago as more people try to find work, and one out of five jobs created is with — drumroll please — the government.

Four years ago, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. This Sunday, the two teams will once again play for the NFL’s championship trophy. The big difference? Price hikes anywhere from 20% to 65% over four years ago on your favorite Super Bowl party snacks. Oh, and the average ticket price to actually attend the game in Las Vegas is a mind-blowing $9,500.

But fixed prices present a far bigger problem than chips and cheese dip.

“Car insurance rates jump 26% across the U.S. in 2024,” reports CBS News. Homeowners insurance isn’t much different.

“Auto insurance rates have been rising at a breakneck pace,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate. “And though the pace of increases will eventually slow, that doesn’t mean premiums are coming down.” That’s a key point — a new, higher fixed expense.

Well, except for those lucky drivers in Wyoming, the one state where premiums dropped … by a whole $1. Don’t tell drivers in Missouri, where rates are up 40%.

While consumers can buy fewer eggs or less milk, anyone who owns a car or a home is stuck with astronomically higher expenses just to keep the thing they already own. And that goes a long way to explaining the worry among consumers interviewed by outlets like The Wall Street Journal.

Insurance rates are simply chasing material prices. Homes and cars have drastically outpaced the overall inflation rate in recent years. “[Joe Biden Wrecked the Car (Market),” we said last August. That same month, we noted that “Bidenomics Sends Mortgage Rates Soaring.”

A 26% hike in car insurance can mean an annual bill that’s hundreds of dollars higher. The same goes for a mortgage bill when homeowner’s insurance and property taxes rise. Suddenly, your asset just blew a giant hole in your monthly budget. And it’s not like selling in favor of something else will fix the problem. Houses and cars are, again, vastly more expensive than they were three years ago, and interest rates are more than double what they were, making for a double whammy when financing that purchase.

It’s not that groceries aren’t a persistent problem, but the skyrocketing fixed cost of maintaining ownership of an asset is enough to drive anyone to despair, no matter how many “Everything Is Awesome” stories Democrat media propagandists churn out.

Now that overall cumulative inflation is up 17% since January 2021, we’ll leave you with this not-so-prophetic exit quote from Joe Biden in July 2021: “There’s nobody suggesting there’s unchecked inflation on the way — no serious economist.”