It’s summer in a non-election year, so it’s difficult to read too much into poll numbers. That said, Joe Biden’s approval on the economy has ranged from the low 30s to the low 40s in recent surveys. The economy is also by far the number one concern for most Americans, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Why is this? The Bidenflation, the housing market, the stagnant wage growth, the list goes on of pressures facing American households.
But perhaps we’ve been asking the wrong questions. That’s what the White House is now saying, at least.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jared Bernstein showed up on something called NewsNation’s “Morning in America” this week and claimed that “one of the problems I think we face is that some of these pollsters are not asking the right questions when it comes to specific components of Bidenomics.”
Interesting, do go on…
“I also think it’s really important, at least if you want to understand the answer to the question you just asked me, to ask people what they think about the largest investment in broadband that we’ve ever made in this country,” he explained.
“This is basically doing what FDR did with rural electrification, doing that for broadband, which, of course, is so essential.”
“Ask people how they feel about getting rid of non-compete clauses, about making things like hearing aids more affordable, about getting rid of junk fees.”
They are so, so lost. Unless of course, they are just toying with us all, and their real goal is just to spend as much as possible and grow the government as much as possible.
(For the record, we at the BBD are pro-inexpensive hearing aids and anti-junk fees, but this is not the path to reviving our economic malaise.)
Broadband is probably a worthy area for the government to invest, but we’ve allocated so many trillions of dollars to public expenditures over the last few years, so it would be nice to see at least a little benefit at this point.
Bernstein hopped over to CNBC’s “Squawk Box” next (we’ve heard of that show) and said that the real problem for the White House is that “you’re getting a lot of partisanship and you know that we’re in an extremely partisan time.”
True, but how did we get there? Joe Biden’s entire economic agenda has catered to Democrat base voters. He’s the OG economic partisan.
“People are very excited about infrastructure,” Bernstein claimed.
We’re not sure people are “very excited” about infrastructure. Sure, we could use some. The highway a couple miles down the road has been under construction for months. If Biden can get that thing finished off, we’ll give him some points. But that’s not “very exciting.”
Again, the White House is clearly struggling with messaging as we crest toward election season.
It seems like the strategy as of now is use words like “broadband,” “ports,” and “bridges,” as often as possible. They’ve got a little while to go to hone their economic message, but that ain’t gonna do it.
Biden would be better off giving Americans what they really want: fossil fuel.
The world’s largest gas station opened in Sevierville, Tennessee, on Monday—a Buc-ee’s of course—and it delighted crowds to no end. One hundred and twenty gas pumps, 24/7 service, a 74,000 square foot amusement park-like store, and hundreds of solid American jobs were brought online. This is what the people want. We’ll take a barbecue brisket sandwich and a tank of premium, please.
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