Fox Business host Charles Payne explained why Americans are feeling so pessimistic about the economy on Wednesday’s episode of “Special Report with Bret Baier.”
Host Bret Baier said that gas prices and inflation are still hurting most Americans. He asked Payne to provide deeper insight into why high prices are still “lingering” around. (RELATED: Two-Thirds Of Americans Say Inflation Is Gutting Their Paychecks: POLL)
“Crude inventories are now at the lowest level since March of 1985. The strategic petroleum reserve is at its lowest level since 1983, and at $81 dollars a barrel, it’s too expensive to try to replenish it. But, we start to see that go higher, and it’s going to be extraordinary,” Payne said.
“The sad thing is Americans are locked in this fight with inflation and are bracing for recession. Yesterday, the consumer confidence report came out. Stunning — it dropped precipitously, and what was really intriguing about this one is 69% of Americans are still bracing for a recession. And the folks with households over $100,000, they actually complained the most. Their confidence dropped the most,” Payne said.
He explained that the “trillions of dollars” from Biden’s economic stimulus plans has finally “worked its way through the system” and left massive inflation in its wake. Payne said the GDP “came down” much faster than many people anticipated, but warned that the Federal Reserve should not “do too much.”
Payne also cited statistics that showed that 42% of families that receive food stamps are skipping meals as compared to 20% last summer. He stated that 51% of these families are eating less, compared to 27% last summer. He added that the study’s “most stunning” finding is that 65% of food-stamp-receiving families with children believe they have enough “cash on hand to last them one or two days.”
“There’s no soft landing for these folks,” Payne said.