Everyday costs incurred by American workers since President Joe Biden assumed office are only “more expensive on paper,” New York Times economic reporter Jeanna Smialek wrote Wednesday about the “good news” economy.
Members of the establishment media constantly appear to use a semantic trick to express optimism about the president’s economy, when, in fact, Americans are very unhappy about the increased costs:
- Gallup: 61 percent of Americans say price increases caused them financial hardship.
- CNBC: A record high 66 percent of Americans are “pessimistic” about the future of Biden’s economy.
- Lending Club: 62 percent of adults in December said they live paycheck to paycheck, up from 58 percent in March.
- WSJ: Only 23 percent of voters said Biden’s policies helped them.
The media constantly conflate the diminished rise of inflation with costs that soared under Biden and remain high.
For instance, a Big Mac burger, a medium beverage, and a medium fry meal now costs $18 in some locations, up $10 from 2018, when former President Donald Trump was in office.
A tray with a Big Mac, French fries, and Coca-Cola (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Yet Smialek reported Biden’s inflation “quickly” “faded” and “cooled” in 2023, highlighting an economic condition dubbed “disinflation”:
Prices climbed rapidly in 2021 and 2022, straining American household budgets and chipping away at President Biden’s approval rating. But inflation cooled in late 2023, a spurt of progress that happened more quickly than economists had expected and that stoked hopes of a gentle economic landing. Now, the question is whether the good news can persist into 2024.
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What’s happening in America right now is what economists call “disinflation”: When you compare prices today with prices a year ago, the pace of increase has slowed notably. At their peak in the summer of 2022, consumer prices were increasing at a 9.1 percent yearly pace. As of November, it was just 3.1 percent.
Still, disinflation does not mean that prices are falling outright. Price levels have generally not reversed the big run-up that happened just after the pandemic. That means things like rent, car repairs and groceries remain more expensive on paper than they were in 2019.
Smialek’s report appeared to ignore how soaring prices impact American workers.
“I’ve trimmed everything that I possibly can,” 41-year-old Kyle Connolly told CNBC last month. “It sucks having to tell my kids no. It sucks when they ask for a little something extra when we’re checking out at the grocery store and having to tell them, ‘No, I’m sorry, we can’t.’”
Couple with one child checking out at the supermarket (Stock photo via Getty)
Marissa Lyda, a 29-year-old stay-at-home mom from Phoenix, said the economy she hears about on the news does not reflect how inflation impacted her pocketbook.
“I look at the news and see how they’re like, ‘Oh, best earnings, there’s been great growth,’” she said. “And I’m like, ‘Where’s that been?’”
Some academic experts appear to understand the plight of American taxpayers. Laurence Kotlikoff, a professor of economics at Boston University, told CNBC that Biden’s inflation remains a worry for many.
“The bottom line is unexpected inflation has done real damage to the public, but some people face a higher cost,” he said.
Follow Wendell Husebø on “X” @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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