Free Republic

President Joe Biden’s approval rating is tanking, and he’s now trailing former President Donald Trump in national polls, as well as in some key swing states. Vox blames the economy for Biden’s plunging popularity — or at least voters’ perception of the economy. A new Gallup poll shows that just 32% of people approve of Biden’s handling of the economy. To combat the narrative that Biden’s policies are to blame, the White House has gone on the offensive, attacking billionaires and blaming corporations for the economic pain the public is experiencing.

After being left alone for the holidays, eight-year-old Kevin McCallister famously went grocery shopping in the 1990 classic "Home Alone," purchasing a large haul of food and everyday household items for under $20. With today's prices, however, McCallister would need a lot more in his piggy bank and Americans are taking notice. Items including a half gallon of milk, a half gallon of orange juice, a TV dinner, bread, frozen mac and cheese, laundry detergent, cling wrap, toilet paper, a pack of army men and dryer sheets cost the character, played by Macaulay Culkin, $19.83. Last year, the same grocery...

Even though inflation is still higher than ideal, many things are actually getting cheaper. But perhaps not the ones most Americans want. The prices of durable goods, meaning long-lasting items such as used cars or appliances, have fallen year-over-year for each of the past five months. Data released Thursday by the Commerce Department showed prices for such goods were down 2.2% in October compared with the year prior. Some economists estimate the fall in goods prices could bring inflation back to the Federal Reserve's 2% target by as early as the second half of 2024. One inflation gauge, the personal...

The leftist Atlantic actually victim-blamed Americans for the crushing high prices they’re experiencing. In the same breath, the outlet billed President Joe Biden’s ridiculously bad economy as the cat’s pajamas. If “everyone is miserable,” how could things be “going great”? CBS News reported based on analysis by the Joint Economic Committee Republicans that Americans need an extra $11,400 today “just to afford the basics.” CNBC also recently analyzed that the increases in consumer expenditures constitute “doom spending” as a coping mechanism to deal with the increasingly insurmountable high cost of living, even if it is detrimental to them. But Lowrey...

Do you believe the politicians in Washington or do you believe your own eyes? The politicians keep telling us that “inflation is low”, but everyone can see that everything sure does cost a lot more than it once did. Our standard of living just keeps going down, and even JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is admitting that “inflation is hurting people”. But how can inflation be “hurting people” if it is under control? Of course the truth is that it isn’t under control. If the official rate of inflation was still measured using the formula that was in place in...

If your earnings rose by 34% from January 2020 to October 2023, congratulations, the purchasing power of your labor kept pace with higher costs.Official measures of inflation are a long-running tragi-comedy: comedic in the transparency of the distortions, and tragic in the consequences: what will you believe is true--the statistics or your lying eyes?The basic gimmick of distortion is to underweight whatever is eating away at the purchasing power of earnings and highlight the trivial items that are getting cheaper due to declines in quality and globalization. So your rent went up by $200 a month, or $2,400 a year,...

While members of the Biden Administration party at DC nightclubs, the rest of America are drinking Carlo Rossi wine (a favorite of mine in high school!) and eating Spam. The average U.S. household needs an additional $11,434 per year to maintain the same standard of living due to record-high inflation under the Biden administration. While hourly pay has increased, inflation has outpaced it. Spending on basic survival needs like food, transportation, housing, and energy has increased, with households in the Mountain West facing the highest rates of inflation. “We choose January 2021 as the base month because it was the...

Shrugging off higher interest rates, America's consumers spent enough to help drive the economy to a brisk 5.2% annual pace from July through September...The government had previously estimated that the economy grew at a 4.9% annual rate last quarter...the unemployment rate has come in below 4% for 21 straight months, the longest such streak since the 1960s..."We continue to forecast ongoing expansion in economic activity, but the pace should slow quite significantly in Q4..."

The typical American household must spend an additional $11,434 annually just to maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed in January of 2021, right before inflation soared to 40-year highs, according to a recent analysis of government data. Such figures underscore the financial squeeze many families continue to face even as the the rate of U.S. inflation recedes and the economy by many measures remains strong, with the jobless rate at a two-decade low. Even so, many Americans say they aren't feeling those gains, and this fall more people reported struggling financially than they did prior to the pandemic,...

After being told the economy is great (given the Biden admin's begging companies to lower prices, it isn't), this refreshingly honest bit of reporting from CBS News throws a wrench into the gaslighting the administration's been doing: Americans need an extra $11,400 today just to afford the basics. https://t.co/t79U2FLqFv — CBS News (@CBSNews) November 29, 2023 An extra $11,000 dollars. Insane. CBS writes: The typical American household must spend an additional $11,434 annually just to maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed in January of 2021, right before inflation soared to 40-year highs, according to a recent analysis of...

President Joe Biden has been humiliated after bragging about reducing the prices of gas, groceries, and airline flights in a speech on Monday. Republicans were quick to refute Biden's claim, taking to social media platform X to call him out for misinformation. The Republican National Committee wrote: "'FACT: Since Biden took office, airfare is up 21 percent, Thanksgiving dinner was up 25 percent, and gas prices are $0.86/gallon higher." This has proven to be yet another instance of Biden struggling to prove and garner support for his administration's economic policies and plans, something that is especially important in the run-up...

Biden acknowledged Monday that prices are still “too high” and argued that companies should lower them after an 18% jump in consumer costs since he took office.“We know that prices are still too high for too many things — that times are still too tough for too many families,” *** “We’ve made progress, but we have more work to do,” “Let me be clear to any corporation has not brought their prices back down, even as inflation has come down, even supply chains have been rebuilt: It’s time to stop the price gouging and give the American consumer a break.”...

It is déjà vu for major oil producers, who are again considering steeper production cuts. It took only a month after the Hamas attacks on Israel unleashed a punishing war for oil prices to fall below their pre-Oct. 7 level. The steep drop in oil prices last week, with Brent crude briefly dropping to $77 per barrel, led to speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers (OPEC+) will decide to cut production at its next meeting. OPEC’s last-minute decision to delay the meeting, now scheduled for Nov. 30, will only add to the speculation. U.S....

Bidenomics is the economy’s Highway to Hell! Massive, staggering misallocation of scare resources to fund endless wars, green energy fraud, and massive wealth transfers to immigrants while disabled veterans suffer. Now we see that the US leading economic indicators is down -7.6%, definitely smelling like a recession. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, the Leading Economic Indicators is down 7.6% (down YoY for 16 straight months) – close to its biggest YoY drop since 2008 (Lehman) outside of the COVID lockdown-enforced collapse. On a monthly basis (MoM), leading economics indicators are down -0.8%. It has been going down for 16 straight...

The majority of U.S. adults are living paycheck to paycheck heading into this holiday season, a report shows. LendingClub’s latest report shows that as of October, 60 percent of adults said they are living paycheck to paycheck. Around 40 percent of consumers consider themselves to be worse off now than in 2022. Even higher earners are struggling to get by, with 42 percent of those making six figures also living check-to-check under President Joe Biden. According to a separate CNBC survey, the number of adults struggling to save between checks is up from 58 percent in March.

President Joe Biden suggested Thursday that Americans who are unhappy with the economy are experiencing a “disconnect.” Biden touted a variety of economic statistics during a speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Thursday, before acknowledging that the American people feel a “disconnect” between the “numbers, and how people feel about their place in the world right now.” As Biden and his administration continue to insist “Bidenomics” is a success, 61% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck and 75% of U.S. adults think the economy is in a “fair” or “poor” state. “The last quarter the American economy grew...

We keep hearing that inflation is down, lower than a year ago or in the right direction or some other explanation like that. It's about what you'd hear from a White House managing a bad message. And then mom goes to the grocery store and comes home shaking her head and looking at the bill. This is when inflation goes from being a news story to a family conversation. This is from Steve Cortes: In fact, the latest survey results from the battleground swing states of America finds that food insecurity is a foremost worry of American citizens. My organization,...

Ya' gotta love it when so-called Economists tell Americans not to believe their lying eyes and accept that no no, they really ARE better off under Biden's crap economy. Forget that groceries are through the roof, gas is still more expensive than it was when Joe took office, and interest rates on homes for people with EXCELLENT credit is at least 8% ... no no, things are GREAT. Awesome possum. So awesome, per Claudia Sahm, that when she insisted Americans are better off she hid replies and THEN deleted her post. Why would Claudia delete this tweet? She worked so...

US tax brackets will rise by around 5.4 percent next year in line with inflation, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has confirmed. From 2024, the lowest tax rate of 10 percent will apply to those earning up to $11,600, up from $11,000 this year. Meanwhile the highest rate of 37 percent will now apply to workers whose salaries exceed $609,350, up from $578,125 in 2023. Middle-income thresholds all saw similar rises. These higher thresholds could mean savings for millions of workers across all income brackets. They will apply to the 2024 tax year - meaning returns filed in 2025. The...

President Joe Biden’s climate proposals will substantially increase average Americans’ home expenses for purchases like appliances, according to data from the Alliance For Consumers (AFC). The financial burden of the Biden administration’s policies targeting household appliances totals $9,166 in new costs for average Americans per home, according to the AFC. The Biden administration has set its sights on a number of appliances to regulate as a part of its green agenda, including gas furnaces, water heaters, air conditioners and more, in an attempt to reduce carbon emissions. “Any government-imposed efficiency mandate creates a burden for American families and businesses for...