Democrats and the media are in a quandary about why Americans don’t appreciate all that President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have done for the economy — or should I say to the economy. They act as if these were the salad days for Americans, with inflation falling and jobs aplenty — for now. So why are Americans so dour? A recent Pew poll found that only 22% of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction.
Another poll revealed that more than half of Americans think the U.S. is in a recession.
A CNBC headline from last week treated the poll finding with shock and amazement: “59% of Americans wrongly think that the U.S. is in a recession.
” According to the article: “Economists have wrestled with the growing disconnect between how well the economy is doing and how people feel about their financial standing. The U.S.
economy has remained remarkably strong despite persistent inflation.” Stop right there. Yes, gross domestic product is indeed growing, which means we are not in a technical recession.
But the economy is strong for whom? Academics isolated in their ivory towers? Those cloistered inside the Beltway? The people with cushy jobs in the newsrooms across America? The poll cited above found that a major reason Americans say they are pessimistic is “higher costs and difficulty making ends meet.” This isn’t a figment of their imagination. The average household has lost roughly $2,000 in buying power since Mr.
Biden entered offi.