Analysis: Republican National Committee

BIDEN “TRANSITIONED” THE U.S. ECONOMY FROM A RECOVERY TO A RECESSION

• [Thursday], the Bureau of Economic Analysis released new data indicating the U.S. economy shrank 0.9 percent in the second quarter of 2022, meeting his own economic advisers’ definition of a recession.
  • With the economy also plummeting 1.6 percent in the previous quarter, today’s data now marks two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.
  • The widely accepted definition of a recession is two quarters of negative growth.
• As the Excuse-Maker-in-Chief, Biden has not only downplayed predictions of a looming recession, but has even tried to redefine the word “recession.”
• While Biden and his administration scramble to come up with new excuses for their failing economy, hardworking Americans know exactly who is to blame.
  • Two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy.

BIDEN DISMISSED RECESSION PREDICTIONS AND NOW WANTS TO REDEFINE THE WORD

• For months, Biden has rejected predictions from experts that the economy is on the brink of recession.
  • Just this week, Biden claimed the U.S. is not “going to be in a recession” despite the predictions of industry leaders like Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America.
  • In June, Biden lashed out at a reporter for asking about a looming recession, saying “C'mon, don’t make things up.”
  • In April, Biden said he was “not concerned about a recession.”
• When denying reality no longer worked, the Biden administration recently tried to redefine what a recession is.
  • In July, Biden claimed a recession is “unlikely” even if GDP is negative.
  • Biden advisor Gene Sperling claimed that two quarters of negative growth is “not the actual definition of a recession.”
  • Earlier this week, Biden economic advisor Brian Deese claimed the U.S. is not in a recession “in terms of the technical definition.”

BIDEN’S ECONOMISTS HAVE REPEATEDLY SAID TWO NEGATIVE QUARTERS IS A RECESSION

• Biden’s economic advisors have repeatedly defined a recession as two negative quarters of economic growth.
• Biden’s National Economic Council Director Brian Deese in March 2008: “Of course economists have a technical definition of recession, which is two consecutive quarters of negative growth.”
• Biden’s Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Cecilia Rouse in May 2022: “Two quarters of negative growth” is an indicator of a recession.
• Biden’s economic adviser Jared Bernstein in September 2019: A recession is “defined as two consecutive quarters of declining growth.”
• Biden’s economic adviser Heather Boushey in May 2019: As a “rule of thumb,” a recession refers to “two quarters of negative growth in GDP.”

BIDEN’S ECONOMY: HIGH PRICES AND LOW WAGES

• Today’s economic news confirms what most Americans already knew: the Biden economy isn’t working for them.
• In June, the Consumer Price Index increased by 9.1 percent compared to last year, exceeding economists’ expectations and reaching a new 40-year high.
  • Real average hourly earnings fell 3.6 percent over the last year, marking the 15^th month in a row under Biden in which inflation has outpaced wages.
• Inflation has cost the average American household over $5,500 since the Democrats’ failed $1.9 trillion “stimulus” was passed, and is expected to eat up an additional $8,600 over the next year according to Congress’ Joint Economic Committee.
• To pay for Biden’s price hike, more than two-thirds of Americans are dipping into their savings to make ends meet, with 31 percent having either “completely drained their savings” or “depleted a substantial amount.”
  • A Northwestern Mutual study found Americans now have an average of $11,000 less in savings than they did last year.
• Americans are also facing growing interest rates on everything from student loans to mortgages, making it harder for millions to achieve the American Dream.
• In June, consumer sentiment plummeted to a new record low, with a reading lower than at any point since the gauge started in 1952.

SMALL BUSINESSES GET CLOBBERED BY BIDENFLATION

• Under Biden, small business owners are feeling squeezed as input costs continue to rise and consumer spending begins to slow.
  • June’s Producer Price Index rose by 11.3 percent since last year, marking the seventh consecutive month of double-digit gains in producer prices and a near-record high.
  • 47 percent of small businesses owners say their companies are at risk of closing by fall 2022 – up 12 percent since last summer.
• With Biden’s economy failing, small business owners are worried about their ability to earn a living.
  • 93 percent of small businesses fear a U.S. recession in the next year and 78 percent say the economy has gotten worse in the last three months.
  • 75 percent of small business owners say inflation has “negatively impacted” their business’s financial health.
  • 69 percent of small business owners report Biden’s supply chain crisis as having either a “significant” or “moderate” impact on their business.
• S. small business sentiment has dropped to its lowest level in nearly 10 years, with the number of small business owners expecting better business conditions in the next six months plummeting to an all-time low in June.

BIDEN’S RADICAL POLICIES ARE TO BLAME FOR INFLATION

• Biden’s radical tax-and-spend agenda is responsible for inflation.
  • A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found that Biden’s $1.9 trillion “stimulus” fueled inflation.
  • Since Biden’s failed $1.9 trillion “stimulus” was passed, inflation has outpaced wages every single month.
  • According to a June The Economist/YouGov Poll, 75 percent of Americans, including 58 percent of Democrats, blame Biden for inflation, saying he bears “a lot” or “some” responsibility for higher prices.
• Marc Goldwein of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: “We put gasoline on the fire. That’s basically what the [$1.9 trillion stimulus] did.”
• Even liberal economists say Biden’s spending fueled inflation:
  • Former Obama economic advisor Steven Rattner: “The original sin” was passing the $1.9 trillion, which has “contributed materially to today’s inflation levels.”
  • Former Obama economist Jason Furman: Biden’s spending is “too big … don’t know any economist” who supported that much.
  • Biden’s Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen: Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus was one of the “factors that are involved in inflation.”

  Originally posted here.