Analysis: Do Americans Believe In 'Bidenomics'?

As President Joe Biden embarks on a trip to South Carolina to tout his economic policies, it looks like he intends to run for reelection on his so-called Bidenomics platform.

Biden says his economic philosophy is the opposite of the Republican approach favoring broad tax cuts to spur growth. He sees the government as using the tax code in a more targeted fashion and building other programs to foster investment in new technologies, create jobs and boost upward mobility.

Biden said he wants to do more to educate workers and foster competition within the U.S. economy in hopes of reducing prices.

"Bidenomics is about the future. Bidenomics is just another way of saying: 'Restore the American Dream' because it worked before," Biden said at a June 28 campaign appearance in Chicago.

However, it appears many Americans do not agree. According to an AP/ NORC poll published June 28, only 34% of voters currently approve of the president's economic policies.

The Archbridge Institute's July 2023 public opinion poll found that a growing number of Americans say success is out of reach. Now, 24% of Americans no longer see America as the "land of opportunity." That's up from 18% just a year ago. Tellingly, 31% of respondents with only high-school diplomas agreed with the sentiment while only 16% with a college degree did.

Martin Cantor, the director of the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy, said in an interview with International Business Times that "jobs came back only after the government shut down." Moreover, he said, "production is down and real wages are down."

Meanwhile, the cost of living is increasing. According to the Senate's non-partisan Joint Economic Committee, inflation in the U.S. is up 16% in the 30 months since Biden took office.

Accordingly, Cantor said, people have resorted to using their credit cards more. "There's less money in the money supply," he said. "Credit card spending is up $17 trillion in the 1st quarter alone."

Americans are also struggling when looking to purchase a home. Since Biden took office, mortgage rates have gone to 6.7% from 2.8% and home prices are up 22%.

William Luther, director of the Sound Money Project at the American Institute of Economic Research, said in an interview with the International Business Times when Biden took office the country had a deficit of $1.41 trillion. "As we get into 2024 that number will be well over $2 trillion," Luther said.

Former director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, in a June 28 column for The New York Sun, said Biden "has spent $6 trillion, and raised taxes." In the same column, Kudlow, also a Fox News host, said "there are over $500 billion in new regulations" while Biden has "waged war" on fossil fuels.