Recently, economic data was released that painted a dim outlook for Americans. According to the Census Bureau, real median household income dropped to its lowest level in nearly 12 years.
The inflation-adjusted income in 2022 was $74,580 compared to $76,330 in 2021, creating a 2.3 percent decline year-over-year. This is the largest drop since 2010, when real household income fell by 2.6 percent, coming off the back of the Great Recession.
Real household income is the combined gross cash of all members in a given home above a specific age, considering the true spending power of that money and adjusting for the impact of inflation. Judging by this data, average Americans are still enduring significant economic pain, given the historically high inflation we have seen over the past couple of years.
According to the bureau, the Supplemental Poverty Measure, another measure of economic well-being, rose from 7.8 percent in 2021 to 12.4 percent in 2022. “The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) rate in 2022 was 12.4%, an increase of 4.6 percentage points from 2021. This is the first increase in the overall SPM poverty rate since 2010,” the bureau stated. Although, the official percentage of people in poverty of 11.6% saw no statistically significant change in 2022. However, almost 40 million people in America live in poverty.
The American Tribune reported on comments from former President Donald Trump, who completely shredded the illusion of Bidenomics, claiming the economic plan is leading the country into a “Great Depression.”
“If you took the five worst presidents in the history of the United States and added them up, they would not have done near the destruction to our country as Joe Biden and the Biden administration have done in a few short years,” Trump stated. “And no damage has been worse than the disaster known as Bidenomics.”
Trump also called out the outrageously high inflation American consumers have endured over the past couple of years. “Since Joe Biden took office, cumulative inflation has reached almost 20 percent — and the dollar has lost more than 20 percent of its value in just three years’ time,” he said.
The former president also sounded off on Biden and the Democrats for unchecked fiscal spending. “Joe Biden has blown through $11.5 trillion dollars in wasteful spending — equivalent to $88,000 dollars taken from every American family. Under Biden, the budget deficit is exploding and set to more than double this year alone.”
It is commonly known in the field of economics that fiscal expenditure stimulates the economy, leading to increased prices. Many criticized Biden for his spending plans amid high inflation figures not seen in decades.
“We’re heading into a great depression,” Trump said. “The only question is whether or not it will be during the remaining months of the Biden administration, or will the next president have to bear the brunt of what Biden has done to our country? I don’t want to be the next Herbert Hoover — and I won’t let that happen.”
Going into 2024, the state of the economy is not in Biden’s favor. Even though the U.S. has not entered a recession and the economy has managed to weather the fast pace of interest rate hikes so far, there is still cause for concern. Consumers have largely spent through cash savings from the pandemic, maturing corporate debt could increase financing costs at higher interest rates, and a tight labor market could continue pushing prices upward, to name several. Additionally, many speculate that the full effects of the Federal Reserve’s rate hiking campaign have not been realized yet.
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