CNN’s Harry Enten said Friday the biggest economic indicator that spells bad news for President Joe Biden is disposable income.
CNN’s Erica Hill noted the gains in the stock market and said while the U.S. added 200,000 jobs last month and unemployment has dropped to 3.7%, “the vast majority of Americans say the economic conditions right now are poor.”
Enten said most Americans don’t focus on the stock market when judging the health of the economy. (RELATED: CNN Host Says Biden Should Stop Telling People Economy Is Strong)
“I mean, if you were to look basically at disposable income, the change in disposable income, that is probably the weakest economic measure there is out there. From the first year of a president’s term to now in a term, look at this. We’ve actually had negative growth. We have actually decreased the amount of disposable income we’ve had, 2.7% for the Biden Administration. Look at that. The average for the president since JFK, is plus 4.5%. And even in the last few months, the last six months, the growth that we’ve had just 0.2%. The average six months since 1961? 1.1%. So we’re even behind on that metric.”
Ninety-nine percent of Americans will have less money in the bank by mid-2024 than they did pre-pandemic – as inflation and high interest rates batter their savings, JPMorgan analyst say https://t.co/wSoeZaSsQG pic.twitter.com/yOuB4Y4ABe
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) December 13, 2023
Job growth is only up in three major sectors: government, private education and health services, and leisure and hospitality. Other sectors like transportation and warehousing saw a decrease in jobs or no improvement at all. The job growth was also boosted by government spending.
“It’s hard to see these headlines saying ‘oh, the economy is doing well,’ and then every month, you look at your checkbook and your bank account, and it’s hard to even pay the bills,” says Bilt Rewards CEO @ankurjain_2 on why Bidenomics isn’t resonating with younger voters. pic.twitter.com/QgSEjmhZVU
— Last Call (@LastCallCNBC) December 15, 2023
Chief economist and senior adviser for the Center for American Prosperity Michael Faulkender told the Daily Caller News Foundation that “there are essentially two economies right now – the private sector economy and the government economy.”
Bidenomics means everything is more expensive and you have less money. pic.twitter.com/POZurVc8xk
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) December 14, 2023
Other economic indicators paint a sour picture for the American public. 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.
Real wages have also declined 2.1% during the same time frame.