On October 22nd, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial titled "Why Biden Economics is Not Popular", compiled as follows:
A poll last week showed that about two-thirds of voters in swing states do not trust Biden's economic policies. Democrats have been pondering why more and more African American and Hispanic voters are becoming interested in the Republican Party. A new report released by the Federal Reserve last week may provide the answer. The report indicates that the situation of ethnic minorities was particularly difficult during Biden's presidency.
The Federal Reserve conducted an investigation into the financial situation of consumers. According to news reports on the survey, from 2019 to 2022, the net assets of typical American households increased by 37% amidst the surge in US securities and housing prices. However, although Americans generally became wealthier during Biden's tenure, many did not feel wealthy because they had less cash at their disposal.
The Federal Reserve's report states that after deducting inflation factors, the income of typical white households increased by 1.3%. But the data shows that the income of African American and Hispanic families decreased by 1.6% and 1.1% respectively. The wage growth rate of ethnic minorities has not kept up with the pace of inflation, and the wages of white people have only barely kept up with inflation.
The report shows that African American and Hispanic families "benefit more from government subsidies, including large-scale subsidy programs during the pandemic," such as food stamps, consumer stimulus subsidies, rental subsidies, more unemployment benefits, and greater childcare tax deductions. But now, the distribution of epidemic subsidies has stopped, and Congress's extensive distribution of subsidies has pushed up inflation and harmed the interests of consumers with stagnant real income.
The Federal Reserve's report also states: "Although ordinary households can use the wealth accumulated in the past to cope with daily expenses, for African American and Hispanic households, the growth in wealth mainly focuses on housing, which is not considered a liquid asset." The report states: "The true liquid wealth of Hispanic households (including assets such as cash, checks, and savings accounts) has not increased significantly, while the liquid wealth of African American households has decreased The value of housing owned by a family has increased by 20% to 30% compared to before, which does not drive people to consume significantly.
All of this explains why Americans, especially ethnic minorities, are dissatisfied with Biden's economic policies. The report from the Federal Reserve states: "We see a general increase in pessimism towards the economy, particularly among non white households." The report states that Americans are generally more concerned about future income uncertainty than in 2019, with "greater uncertainty in income for African American and Hispanic households.
This report shows that the proportion of Americans who believe that the economic outlook will worsen has significantly increased in 2022, reaching or approaching a record high, surpassing levels after the Great Recession. Although the unemployment rate remains low at 3.8%, the bill is growing at the same or faster rate as income. The American people are also concerned that after the rapid rise in housing prices and stock prices, the economy will decline.
Biden's economic performance was poor, but the economic situation worsened. It has always been puzzling why Biden did not change his economic policy. His climate and energy policies are raising costs for consumers and employers, and the introduction of a large number of regulatory policies is creating commercial uncertainty. This is also one reason why polls continue to show that Biden lags behind Trump in support in swing states. Americans may not miss Trump, but they do miss the economy of the Trump era.