State of the Union fact check: Here’s what Biden got wrong
President Joe Biden’s State of The Union address painted a rosy picture of a surging American economy – but it ignored the fact his failed Bidenomics policies still hold many Americans back.
Biden’s presidency caused prices to soar, the national debt to grow, and median household income to dip. His address to Congress proposed inept solutions, such as flawed approaches to housing and “price gouging,” to address problems he caused in the first place.
Biden blew the opportunity to be a unifying statesman, to show the American people he understands their pain and change course to a productive path back to prosperity.
Here is what Biden got wrong during his address:
The truth is: Bidenomics costs Americans big-time
Despite the president’s bragging about the economy, the reality for most Americans is life is much more expensive today than when he took office.
A typical four-person American family now must spend $11,400 more per year to maintain the same quality of life they had four years ago. That’s an extra $950 per month people are spending to get the same goods and services they did before.
- Groceries cost 20% more from the time Biden was elected.
- Since 2021, median household income after taxes dropped by 8.8%.
- Americans’ savings plummeted from $2.99 trillion to $686 billion.
Americans earn less, save less, and pay more to keep the same quality of life. Those are the real effects of Bidenomics.
Biden caused high prices. He’s just scapegoating business.
The president trotted out his administration’s regulatory offensive against private companies, accusing corporations of “price gouging” and selling you less of a product while charging the same, a practice commonly referred to as “shrinkflation.” But the reality is different.
Chicken, meat, milk, cheese, chips and other household items are more expensive not because of a nefarious plot planned by greedy CEOs but because of Biden’s irresponsible and inflationary policies.
The administration spent recklessly, causing prices to soar. Companies, including small businesses, were left to figure out how to adapt to increasing production costs. Some decided to raise prices, others decided to keep prices but reduce sizes.
Biden is trying to evade accountability so Americans blame private companies and not his policies.
Biden forgot to mention the $34 trillion elephant in the room
Biden failed to fully address America’s massive — and growing — national debt.
Biden is not the only president to have ballooned the size and scope of the national debt, but he has played a significant role in making a bad problem even worse.
He blamed former President Donald Trump for overseeing an increase in the national debt, but Biden forgot to mention he has approved $5.5 trillion (approximately $17,000 per American) of new government spending, making the national debt skyrocket to a whopping $34 trillion (almost $100,000 per American).
Biden’s brag about reducing the federal deficit by $1 trillion is misleading. While the deficit did go down in FY 2022, it happened because COVID relief programs phased out with the end of the pandemic and the Republican House pushed Congress to pass the deficit-reducing Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Centrally planned economies are not the future
The president proposed even more top-down economic policies for the future of the American economy.
He vowed to subsidize uncompetitive industries at the taxpayer’s expense, he sketched a plan to raise taxes on higher-income Americans, and called for throwing even more money at expensive projects that will not bring sustainable economic growth for the country. He even said people who make under $400,000 didn’t see tax increases, something the Congressional Budget Office said was not true.
Top-down economic policies are centered on the idea that Washington politicians and bureaucrats should call the shots because they know better than the hardworking American people. History has shown time and time again they are wrong.
Biden’s housing plan isn’t the answer
The president’s proposed plan to make housing more affordable will not solve the problem. It would make it worse.
Biden’s idea to give first-time homeowners a $400 monthly tax credit for two years follows the president’s pattern of thinking that throwing money at problems will fix them. Of course, he is wrong.
Housing unaffordability is almost entirely a supply, not a demand, issue. Red tape prevents building enough houses to meet the demand. That means homes cost way more than most Americans can afford.
Giving money to homeowners does nothing to solve the root of the problem. Home builders will just pass the prices on to consumers. Instead of helping aspiring homeowners, Biden’s housing plan will benefit landlords and existing homeowners.
Akash Chogule, vice president of AFP, talked with Hugh Hewitt and gave a perfect breakdown of the real effects of Biden’s housing plan.
The good news is, Biden’s failures can be fixed using common-sense reforms that benefit us all. For solutions that work, visit Prosperity is Possible.
