Liberal media are declaring Bidenomics a success – but, after three years, hard numbers tell a much different story, regardless of whether the measure is how much Americans are paying, earning or saving.
Gas prices:
While gas prices held steady under Pres. Donald Trump (down four cents a gallon), they’ve surged 32% in the first 36 months of Pres. Joe Biden’s term. From January 2021 to January of 2024, the average price of a gallon of gas (all grades) has increased from $2.42 to $3.20, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Real Wages:
After accounting for inflation, real wages earned by Americans have declined under Biden. In the first quarter of 2021, median weekly real earnings averaged $373. But, by the fourth quarter of 2023, average real earnings had fallen to $371.
Under Trump, however, real wages rose from $352 on January 1, 2017, to $373 on January 1. 2021.
Mortgage Rates:
It’s also costing far more to finance a home purchase under the Biden Administration.
Mortgage rates today are more than twice the average rate home buyers paid when Trump left office, Freddie Mac data reveal. Under Biden’s predecessor, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell by a third, from 4.09% to 2.77%. But, by February 8, 2024, mortgage rates had more than doubled, to 6.64%.
Savings Rates:
With Americans having to spend more than their earnings increased, their average savings rate has declined under Biden.
From February 1, 2017 to February 1, 2021, the average personal savings rate increased 129%, from 5.6% to 12.8%. But, by December 1 of 2023, it had plunged to 3.7% - less than a third of its pre-Biden level – according to Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) calculations, incorporating BLS data.
Real wages are calculated using Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) median usual weekly earnings for full-time employees at least 16 years old and are represented in terms of quarterly 1982-84 Consumer Price Index (CPI) seasonally-adjusted dollars.
Consumer Price Index:
Consumer prices rose 7.6% in the 48 months of the Trump Administration, from a CPI of 243.618 in January 2021 to one of 262.035 in December 2020.
In contrast, prices have already risen more than twice as much, 18.0%, in just 36 months under Biden. Three-fourths of the way through his term, the CPI has risen from 262.518 in January of 2021 to 309.685 last month (January 2024), putting it on pace to increase nearly three times as much as it did during Trump's full, four-year term. On a monthly basis, inflation averaged 1.9% under Trump, compared to 5.7% under Biden, thus far.
