Biden's economy is a flaming dumpster fire
Many people are hurting while our leadership doesn’t seem to care
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The economy is in a bad place, and it’s affecting people all over. When will President Joe Biden face it?
I walked around a higher end shopping outlet last week deep on Long Island. It’s the kind of place that upper middle class people go to get a discount on their patio furniture. I kept passing conversations of people astonished at the prices. These are not people who have been astonished at prices before.
They may not have noticed as the gas price ticked up a dollar a gallon and then three. Or when milk went up 20 percent. But they do when the prices at the outlet are what they expect them to be at the regular location.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No one feels sorry for the shopper shocked at the $13,000 couch at the Restoration Hardware outlet – nor should they. But if the price spikes have reached this set, they’ve reached so many other segments of society first.
It’s the same reason former White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki’s comment "the tragedy of the treadmill that's delayed," referring to the supply chain crisis, was so tone-deaf. It’s not just expensive couches. It’s not just treadmills. It’s food, clothing. It’s everything. We all know it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The president, meanwhile, is tweeting through it.
So far, the president has blamed COVID-19, Vladimir Putin, "Republicans in Congress," and oil companies for the high price of gas. Now he’s on to retail gas stations.
If the president really believes individual gas stations can simply reduce their prices, we’re in more trouble than we thought. People on Twitter responded by tweeting to high-end brands like Lamborghini and Chanel urging them to also "bring down the price you are charging." So far, neither the gas stations nor luxury brands have done so.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The president’s tweet also caught the eye of Chinese state-affiliated media. China Daily EU Bureau Chief, Chen Weihua, tweeted back at the president:
We know the president is just making excuses, but our adversaries abroad see a flailing president lashing out at those trying to stay afloat and attacking capitalism too.
The White House also likes to point to the fact that the employment rate is high. Another tweet:
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Unemployment is down, it’s true. But that’s no great consolation when everyone is working to afford ever less. And while President Biden takes credit for people being employed, the rest of the economy being a flaming dumpster fire is somehow not his fault.
Low unemployment isn’t a given forever either.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}I’m not an economist. And neither are the people pulling into gas stations and only getting half a tank. Or putting off necessities. Or making hard decisions about what their family will go without. The conversations are happening across the country. We all feel the tightness across our society and the way so many people are hurting while our leadership doesn’t seem to care.
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The people at the outlets can skip some purchases, but it signals something far deeper that they do. As the stock market continues to tank, inflation stays high and people really feel the crunch, many experts think a recession is on the horizon. The ship needs to be turned around, but the president first needs to recognize that he’s set sail at all.
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