The challenges continue to mount for President Joe Biden as he grapples with plummeting approval ratings and growing calls for him to reconsider his 2024 presidential bid. Biden’s latest attempt to paint himself as the savior of the economy has come under scrutiny, and his claims of presiding over a historic job creation period have been met with skepticism.
Biden’s assertion that the return of jobs lost during the COVID-19 shutdowns is a result of his economic plan has faced fact-checking, even from some within the liberal media. Critics argue that he’s trying to take undue credit for a natural rebound after pandemic-induced layoffs. The reality is that his economic policies, often referred to as “Bidenomics,” are failing to deliver the rosy picture he paints.
One stark indicator of this failure is the increase in poverty rates in the United States, which has surged in 2022, marking the first such increase in 13 years. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which factors in government programs and tax credits aimed at aiding low-income families, recorded a poverty rate of 12.4% in 2022, up by 4.6% from the previous year.
A particularly troubling aspect of this increase is the spike in child poverty, which more than doubled from 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2022. This surge followed the expiration of the child tax credit expansion at the end of 2021. While Biden seeks to blame Republicans for not extending this tax credit, it’s important to note that Democrats controlled both the House and Senate in 2021. If Bidenomics were genuinely fostering job growth, there would be fewer people in poverty, making such handouts less necessary.
The issue of inflation, which continues to plague the economy, cannot be pinned solely on Republicans. Despite Biden’s rhetoric, Americans understand that inflation and rising prices are significant concerns, and they hold the party in power accountable for these problems. Biden’s attempts to take credit for an economic recovery that remains elusive and to shift blame to Republicans for the economic woes he has contributed to are unlikely to resonate with voters who are feeling the financial strain of these challenges.
