Joe Biden doesn't care if his policies hurt the Average Joe

At President Joe Biden’s recent celebrity-studded fundraiser in New York, former President Barack Obama spoke glowingly about Lunch Pail Joe’s deep empathy for the Little Guy. Obama rhetorically asked the room, "At the end of the day, who do you think is actually going to look out for you? Who do you think is going to fight on your behalf? … This guy does. Yeah." 

Obama’s right. Biden does care about the people in that hall – the billionaires and liberal elites, Hollywood stars and private equity mega-donors; those are the folks who paid as much as $500,000 to attend the glitzy event at Radio City.  

That’s who Biden caters to: the climate zealots  feeding on the ginormous trillion-dollar Inflation Reduction Act, the industrialists eager to siphon off their "fair share" of the billions being thrown at chipmakers – the most profitable companies on earth – to encourage investment in the U.S., the tech wizards who are playing nice in hopes they won’t be the next target of the FTC’s Lina Khan, the union bosses reveling in the revival of Big Labor even as workers quietly abandon ship.  

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The DNC won’t say who actually showed up to help raise more than $26 million. Why so coy? Because Democrat apparatchiks pretend that former President Donald Trump is the candidate kowtowing to the monied class; they don’t want the public to know that Biden’s crowd is way more Wall Street than Main Street.  

Former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden arrive for a campaign fundraising event at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on March 28, 2024. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

The reality is that Biden doesn’t give a hoot for the Little Guy, and the feeling is mutual. In a very recent Economist/YouGov poll, only 17% of U.S. adults with incomes below $100,000 held a "very favorable" view of Joe Biden.   

Asked who they would vote for if the election were held today, Trump beats Scranton Joe with people earning less than $100,000 - while higher earners pick Biden.   

Why are lower-income Americans gravitating toward Trump? It’s not because they think he’s more likable; in fact, the same poll shows they don’t. It’s because they think his policies worked better for them. Guess what? They’re correct. 

In Biden’s America, the poor are getting poorer and the rich are doing … just fine. We have a two-tiered economy, and the bottom half is struggling. Investment firm Evercore ISI recently surveyed clients; two-thirds don’t think the stock market is pricing in "the stress on lower-income consumers" while more than 80% think the "financial stress on the lower-income consumer" will remain the same or get worse.  

This is not an accident. It is the entirely predictable outcome of policies flowing from the Biden White House. Allowing millions of undocumented people to flood into our country is driving down wages for low-skilled Americans, of course. 

Also, the vast majority of jobs added since the pandemic has gone to immigrants, including people in the country illegally. We do not know the split, but we do know that young men born in the U.S. have not yet recovered all the jobs lost during the pandemic, while there are 2.9 million more foreign-born workers with jobs today compared to 2019.  

The struggles of low-net worth households are obvious and growing. Bank of America reports that spending growth from lower and middle-income Americans has stalled. This is a change from last year when these cohorts were viewed by the giant bank as a "point of strength." The report cites a change in the jobs market as the possible culprit, writing that, "some of the momentum at the lower-income end of the labor market may be slowing." 

While job growth for those without a high school degree soared early in the post-COVID-19 recovery, as hospitality and other industries shut down during the pandemic restaffed, gains peaked around the middle of last year. This past January, fewer skilled workers actually lost jobs.  

Actor Sean Hayes (in glasses) poses with President Joe Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, along with fellow actors Jason Bateman and Will Arnett. (seanhayes/Instagram)

The worsening jobs picture has not yet toppled spending. Americans were able to build significant savings from the relief packages passed under Trump and Biden, and spending has remained robust. Now, though, the extra benefits and savings are mostly depleted; soon they will be gone. 

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To keep the party going, Americans have been piling on credit card debt, which increased nearly 15% in the fourth quarter of last year. Many are ending up in trouble. Delinquencies on credit card borrowings surged more than 50% last year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Given that the interest rates on credit card debt top 20%, no one is relying on that kind of borrowing unless they have to.  

Meanwhile, Biden’s manic green energy push is raising the cost of living. The price of electricity is up more than 20% since Biden took office, thanks in large part to his unrealistic climate agenda which is clashing with an inadequate electric grid. Do we think low-income Americans care more about Biden’s virtue-signaling push for electric cars and stoves, or about keeping the lights on?  

In Biden’s America, the poor are getting poorer and the rich are doing … just fine. We have a two-tiered economy, and the bottom half is struggling. Investment firm Evercore ISI recently surveyed clients; two-thirds don’t think the stock market is pricing in "the stress on lower-income consumers" while more than 80% think the "financial stress on the lower-income consumer" will remain the same or get worse.  

And, Biden’s effort to constrain domestic fossil fuel production has meant higher energy prices. U.S. oil output is hovering near its all-time high despite the White House slow-walking leases and drilling permits and ladling on hefty new fees and taxes.  

But domestic oil production could be even higher, which would be helping to offset supply cuts from OPEC+ as well as turbulence in the Middle East and Russia. Oil prices have jumped 18% so far this year and are at their highest level since last October. Gasoline prices, up 6% over the past month, will continue to rise, draining Americans’ wallets.  

The ongoing explosion of government spending under Biden, which is inflating the entire economy and counteracting Fed Chair Jay Powell’s efforts to rein in inflation, has hurt everyone. But higher prices for electricity, gasoline and food don’t mean much to the elites supporting Joe Biden. It’s the Little Guy who’s taking it on the chin. Don’t be surprised if they elect Donald Trump come November. 

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