The Patriot Post® · RNC: Relentless Bidenflation Is Crushing the American People

By the Republican National Committee

EVERYTHING COSTS MORE THANKS TO BIDEN

• The latest Consumer Price Index data shows year-over-year inflation increased¹ in March by 3.5 percent – twice the rate compared to when Biden took office and higher than expected².
  •  Inflation has been at or above 3 percent for 36 straight months, well above the Fed’s average target of 2 percent³.
  • Core consumer prices – stripping out food and energy – rose by 3.8 percent⁴, also above expectations².
• Inflation has risen by 19.4 percent⁵ since Biden took office – with Americans still reeling from the lasting effects of inflation.
  • On a year-over-year basis, inflation under Biden has averaged 5.5 percent¹ – more than double the level of inflation seen under any of the last four presidents.
  • Groceries are up 21.1 percent⁶, rent is up 20.9 percent⁷, and electricity is up 28.3 percent⁸ since Biden took office.
• With persistent inflation having eaten away at wage gains, more and more Americans are struggling financially.
  • Bidenflation outpaced wages for a majority of Biden’s presidency – both year-over-year real average hourly earnings⁹ and real average weekly earnings¹⁰ were negative for 25 months.
• Real wages remain lower¹¹ than when Biden first took office.
  • Inflation-adjusted average weekly earnings were $397.90 when Biden took office and are now $382.20 – the BLS adjusts to 1982-1984 dollars – meaning Americans have seen a 3.9 percent pay cut¹² under Biden.
    • Under President Trump, real average weekly wages rose 8.2 percent¹².

AMERICANS’ FINANCES ARE BEING DECIMATED

• Americans are suffering from the lasting effects of Biden’s historic inflation, with many struggling to pay¹³ their debts, save¹⁴ for retirement, or afford¹⁵ rent.
  • 78 percent¹⁶ of Americans reporting having to live paycheck to paycheck in 2023, up 6 percent from the previous year. 
  • 53 percent¹⁷ of Americans are behind on saving for retirement.
• The personal savings rate was 3.6 percent¹⁸ in February, well below a decades long average of roughly 8.9 percent¹⁹.
• Bidenomics has cost the middle class $2.4 trillion²⁰ since March 2022.
  • The average middle-class household has lost over $33,000 in real wealth²⁰ in just the past year.
• Americans are increasingly borrowing to cover daily expenses, finding their regular income is no longer enough to make ends meet.
  • Total household debt is at an all-time high²¹ of $17.5 trillion²².
  • Credit card debt recently hit a new record high of $1.13 trillion²³, while a quarter of Americans are putting less money²⁴ towards paying down their debts.
  • 36 percent²⁵ of Americans have more credit card debt than emergency savings while 40 percent could not cover an emergency expense of $1,000.
  • JP Morgan predicts that nearly all Americans will be worse off financially²⁶ by mid-2024 than they were pre-pandemic.
• Fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s are serving fewer low-income Americans²⁷ as menu prices continue to increase.

THE COST OF LIVING IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY UNAFFORDABLE

• The Fed has hiked interest rates 11 times since March 2022 – now at their highest level in 22 years²⁸ – making it harder²⁹ for families to buy a home, finance a car, pay off debt, and perform various other financial transactions.
  • Thanks to higher interest rates, the monthly mortgage payment³⁰ on a median-priced home is twice as much as when Biden took office.
  • Rent affordability is the worst on record³¹, with a new high of 22.4 million renter households considered cost-burdened.
  • Biden’s favorite economist³² – Moody’s Mark Zandi – said that purchasing a home or a car right now is “completely unaffordable for the typical American household³³.”
• U.S. average gas prices currently sit at $3.62 per gallon³⁴, which is more than $1.20 per gallon higher than when Biden became president.
  • Under Biden, the price of a gallon of gas has been above $3 for 1,064 days³⁵ in a row. 
  • Americans have lost over $3,700³⁶ paying higher energy costs since Biden took office.

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.
• A majority³⁷ of Americans rate the economy as poor, according to a New York Times poll.
• Only 38 percent³⁸ of voters rate the economy as good, compared to 65 percent under Trump, according to CBS News.
• 60 percent³⁹ of Americans disapprove of the way Biden is handling inflation and 53 percent disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy, according to an Economist/YouGov poll.
• 60 percent⁴⁰ of Americans believe the economy is on the wrong track, 58 percent⁴¹ think the economy is weak, and 54 percent⁴² say their current personal economic situation is underwater, according to a Harvard-Harris poll.
• Fewer than four in 10 registered voters⁴³ say Biden deserves to be reelected, according to Gallup.

DEMOCRATS’ RESPONSE TO THE INFLATION CRISIS BIDEN CREATED: MORE INFLATIONARY SPENDING

• As working-class families struggle to make ends meet thanks to inflation, voters know Democrats are to blame for rising prices.
• In 2021, Biden and Democrats passed their inflation-fueling $1.9 trillion “stimulus⁴⁴,” which even liberal⁴⁵ economists⁴⁶ admit⁴⁷ fueled inflation.  
• In 2022, every single⁴⁸ Democrat⁴⁹ voted to pass the Bidenflation Scam⁵⁰, which experts say will worsen inflation and raise taxes on working-class Americans.
  • Studies from the Tax Foundation⁵¹, Penn Wharton Budget Model⁵², Moody’s⁵³, and the Congressional Budget Office⁵⁴ all found that the bill will either make inflation worse or do basically nothing to bring down inflation.
  • The Tax Foundation concluded that the Bidenflation Scam Act will “worsen inflation especially in the first four⁵⁵” years.
• Biden recently unveiled his FY 2025 budget – a $7.3 trillion spending spree⁵⁶ chock full of wasteful spending and the largest tax hike in history.

REPUBLICAN-LED STATES ARE DRIVING JOB GROWTH

• The latest state jobs report⁵⁷ shows that 12 of the top 14 states for jobs recovered⁵⁸ since the coronavirus pandemic began are led by Republican governors, and all 14 states have Republican-controlled legislatures.
  • Eight states have yet to fully recover jobs lost from the pandemic – five of which have Democrat governors and six of which have Democrat-controlled legislatures.
  • Out of the top 15 states with the lowest unemployment rates⁵⁹, 10 are led by Republican governors.
  • Mississippi, a Republican-controlled state, has been the only state to reach a new record low unemployment rate⁶⁰ in 2024.
• The latest report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis⁶¹ found that nine of the top 10 states⁶² with the highest real GDP growth in the forth quarter of 2023 have Republican governors.
  • Eight of the top 10 states⁶³ with the largest increases in personal income in the third quarter of 2023 are led by Republicans.

Originally posted here⁶⁴.