A year after taking office, the president could be sunk by one economic metric no matter how good the other numbers are
he Biden administration has a long list of metrics to make the case that the U.S. is enjoying the strongest economic recovery from Covid-19 in the world: low unemployment, higher wages, a record 6.4 million jobs created in 2021. One number, however, could erase any gains: 7%. It represents the highest annual increase in inflation since 1982. Republicans are wasting no time seizing on that fact, and it’s working.
Inflation also has the Federal Reserve talking about a raise in borrowing rates this year after more than a decade of keeping them near zero. Goldman Sachs expects four rate hikes this year, and last week hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman urged the Fed to “ ” with a rate hike of 50 basis points, double the expected increase, joining a chorus of voices urging the Fed to act fast.The jobless rate has fallen to a number close to what it was before Covid-19 sent a shockwave through the system. Before Biden took office, it was 6.7%. Today it’s at 3.9%. With 10 million job openings, the problem for employers is the “Great Resignation.
“People are talking about that as bad news,” said Dean Baker, cofounder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “I guess for employers it is, but I'm more concerned about the workers that feel they have the ability to quit a job they don't like and find a better one. To my view, that’s a really great story.”The price of crude oil has risen 62% since Inauguration Day to $86 per barrel, the highest since 2014. Prices at the pump have nearly doubled in the last year to $3.
“The American Rescue Plan was a major policy error that haunts us to this day,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office. “Biden signed it into law when the economy was growing 6.5%. There was no need to sign that.” Holtz-Eakin, who was chief economic adviser to John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, gives Biden a “gentleman’s C-minus” for his handling of the economy.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
Joe Biden: Scoring the US president's first year in officeHighs and lows of the president's first year - in six charts.
Lire la suite »
Biden touts 'enormous progress' in first year despite pandemicPresident Biden acknowledges the pandemic has left Americans exhausted and demoralised but insists at a news conference marking his first year in office that he has 'outperformed' expectations.
Lire la suite »
Biden made 210 more executive actions than Trump on immigration in his first year: Report'Given this pace of activity, why does the perception exist that the Biden administration has done little on immigration?' the Migration Policy Institute said.
Lire la suite »
Biden hunkers down ahead of just 2nd solo press conference to end first yearPresident Biden has remained out of public view this week as he prepares for just his second solo White House press conference on Wednesday.
Lire la suite »
Biden nods to Covid missteps, inflation pain as he caps his first year'We have faced some of the biggest challenges that we've ever faced in this country these past few years,' the president said on Wednesday. 'But we're getting through it.'
Lire la suite »