CNN’s Poppy Harlow said Friday the Biden Administration needs to stop telling the American public that the “fundamentals” of the economy are strong.
Co-host Erica Hill began by noting that the push to tout “Bidenomics” is not resonating with voters. Former Obama official Sarah Feinberg argued that the current economic numbers are not optimistic for the next generation and that while gas prices are coming down, Americans aren’t feeling much relief elsewhere.
“Inflation overall is better but it is still worse than it was three years ago,” strategist Lee Carter argued. “Prices are – people are looking at $11 packages of bacon. When you look at the polling, 62% of Americans right now say the economy feels bad. When you look at the 85% say personal experiences showing them that things are worse. You look at the stock market rally, you can look at the fundamentals, and the Biden Administration can go out there and say the economy has never been stronger but that’s just not the –”
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“Don’t say the fundamentals of the economy are strong,” Harlow said, jokingly adding “don’t do that.”
“That’s right,” Carter jumped in. “That’s a bad message.”
The consumer price index, which measures inflation, rose just 0.1% overall in November, totaling 3.1% for the year, but prices still remain elevated. Prices for rent, transportation services and food have increased. Total prices are still up 17.2% since Biden took office in January of 2021, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Meanwhile, real wages have declined 2.1% during the same time frame. (RELATED: Biden Admin’s Rosy Inflation Figures Obscure How Americans Are Getting Pummeled By Rising Prices)
Inflation peaked under Biden at 9.1% year-over-year in June of 2022.