Politics

Biden Takes A Blowtorch To The Truth With Household Debt And Savings Claim

REUTERS/Tom Brenner

Mary Rooke Commentary and Analysis Writer
Font Size:

President Joe Biden lied Friday about the level of debt and savings U.S. households have accumulated under his presidency.

Biden boasted during a White House Address that the average American household has increased their savings and lowered debt since his inauguration, according to the White House briefing.

“Today, thanks to the economic plan and the vaccination plan that my administration put into action, America has achieved the most robust recovery in modern history just two years removed from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,” said Biden.

“Since I took office, families are carrying less debt; their average savings are up,” he added. Biden said families feel financially comfortable under his economic plan. (RELATED: ‘A Milestone’: Biden Administration Wipes Out $5.8 Billion Of Student Loan Debt From Corinthian Colleges)

Data from the U.S. Commerce Department published May 27 showed the U.S. personal savings rate fell to the lowest point since Sept. 2008 in April, falling to 4.4%, reported Yahoo Finance.

Wells Fargo economists Tim Quinlin said the U.S. Commerce Department data would typically be a “warning sign” for future economic turbulence.

“In a typical cycle, a sharp drop in the saving rate would be a warning sign about the sustainability of spending,” Quinlin wrote in a note reported by Yahoo Finance. Quinlin said the savings forecast expects the rate to fall as low as 7.2% by the end of 2023.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics that real wages continue to decline. “From April 2021 to April 2022, real average hourly earnings decreased 2.3%, seasonally adjusted,” the agency reported.

Consumer credit card debt rose $266 billion to $15.84 trillion in quarter one of 2022, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s “Household Debt and Credit Report.”

“Balances now stand $1.7 trillion higher than at the end of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Mortgage and auto loan balances rose by $250 billion and $11 billion, respectively, in the quarter,” the NY Fed reported.

Despite credit card balances declining by $15 billion. Consumer credit card balances are $71 billion higher than the first three months of 2021, “representing a substantial year-over-year increase,” according to the NY Fed.