Most Americans Are Unhappy with the Direction of Biden’s Economy
Pick any measure of consumer sentiment you find and the reading will be the same: the Biden economy stinks.
The Wall Street Journal found last year that less than a quarter of consumers say the economy is headed in the right direction. The University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment has rebounded off the lows of 2022, but the December reading of 69.7 is nearly thirty points below the final prepandemic readings. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence index shows consumers are similarly depressed under Biden, at least when compared to the Trump era.
The Rasmussen polling outfit’s most recent survey of consumers shows that just 34 percent of Americans expect the economy to improve next year, and 44 percent say they are worse off now than they were a year ago. Just 23 percent say they are better off now than a year ago. Fannie Mae’s surveys show that Americans remain “overwhelmingly pessimistic” about the housing market. Just 17 percent of Americans say it is a good time to buy a home.
The Economist/YouGov poll from mid-December found that 26 percent of Americans describe the state of the economy as “fair,” and 42 percent describe it as “poor,” a combined negative assessment of 68 percent. Just nine percent say the economy is excellent, and another 21 percent say it is good, bringing those giving the economy good marks to just 30 percent. To state the obvious, that means there are more than twice as many Americans with a negative assessment than a good assessment.
The same poll found that 47 percent of Americans say the economy is getting worse. Christmas did not cheer anyone up because the Economist/YouGov poll taken after Christmas found 49 percent say the economy is getting worse.
The Most Important Issue in 2024: It’s the Economy, Stupid
This is not something Americans are taking lightly. Ninety-six percent of Americans say “the economy and jobs” is a very important issue, according to the Economist/YouGov poll. The same percentage rank inflation as important. Inflation may actually rank as more important because 77 percent of people say it is “very important,” while “jobs and the economy” ranks as “very important” for 71 percent.
Let’s compare that to other issues. Climate change gets an important rating from just 71 percent of Americans. Abortion gets ranked as important by 77 percent, a figure that is boosted because the issue is important to pro-life Americans and opponents of post-Dobbs abortion law reforms. Criminal justice reform is important to 84 percent, right next to civil rights at 85 percent and civil liberties at 87 percent (these may also score highly because they mean very different things to different people). Guns come in at 86 percent, boosted by the fact that it is important to both supporters of gun rights and opponents.
Immigration comes in at 88 percent. Education, 90 percent. Crime gets ranked as important by 93 percent of Americans, the Economist/YouGov poll indicates—presumably by people concerned there is too much crime rather than supporters of increased criminality. Health care scores as important for 94 percent, putting it equal to taxes and government. National security comes in just behind inflation and the economy at 95 percent.
Importantly, none of the issues apart from the economy/jobs and inflation gets ranked as “very important” by 70 percent or more of Americans. Health care comes close at 68 percent, followed by national security at 67 percent, taxes and government at 64 percent, and crime at 62 percent. The other issues are considered very important by less than 60 percent of Americans.
There’s also an important distinction when it comes to the issues of jobs and inflation. As we’ve hinted at above, there are some issues that rank highly because people of very different political persuasions consider them important. Abortion, guns, and immigration are important to people on polar opposite sides of the issues. Even national security likely is bolstered in the rankings because it is important both to interventionists and America Firsters.
Inflation is not like that. Everyone ranking inflation as important wants less of it. Jobs are similar while also being opposite: everyone ranking jobs as important wants employment to be up.
When Americans are asked to name the single most important issue to them, by far the largest share—17 percent—say inflation. Twelve percent say jobs and the economy. The combined 29 percent is greater than education, climate change, and health care combined.
Democrat Panic Is Setting In
You can see why Democrats are starting to panic about this year’s presidential election. Fifty-nine percent of Americans say they disapprove of Biden’s handling of the issue of inflation, including 46 percent who strongly disapprove. Just 32 percent say they approve, with a mere 14 percent strongly approving. On jobs and the economy, Biden’s disapproval is a little less extreme, at 51 percent disapproving (including 37 percent strongly disapproving). That puts it near crime (53 percent disapproval, 38 percent strongly disapproving) and criminal justice reform (52 percent disapproval, 34 percent strongly).
The response of the Biden administration and its allies to the public’s concerns has not been to change policy but to attempt to convince Americans that they are just wrong about the economy. This included branding the policies as “Bidenomics,” a tactic that failed so badly that Democrats have been quietly dropping it and some privately referring it to the most disastrous product launch since New Coke.
More recently, Biden has taken to scolding the press for not convincing the public to love the Biden economy. Asked about the prospects for the economy by a member of the press late last year, Biden said they are “all good.”
“Take a look. Start reporting it the right way,” he said.
We have no doubt that the establishment media would do anything in its power to convince the public that the economy is going great and Bidenomics has been a resounding success. So would a lot of academic economists and not a few who are employed at the Federal Reserve and have bought into the apocalyptic rhetoric that the failure of Biden to win in November would threaten “our democracy.”
Unfortunately for Biden, the world is not just will and representation. There’s an underlying reality that the American people can access in their lives, especially when it comes to what inflation has done to their ability to afford a decent quality of life.
It’s not the reporting that has soured Americans on the economy. It’s the economy, stupid.
