US President Joe Biden told the media to report on the economy “the right way” according to a transcript released by the White House on Sunday.
Biden is facing record-low poll numbers for a President at this stage in their term, including low marks on the economy, despite high job numbers and slowing inflation.
“All good,” Biden replied when asked about his economic outlook for the country. “Take a look. Start reporting it the right way.”
Unemployment is at just 3.7%, which is just above the pre-pandemic unemployment level of 3.5%, which was a record low. Annual inflation has also dropped from a record-breaking 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.5% in November.
Despite these seemingly strong numbers, Americans have not expressed confidence in the economy or Biden’s handling of it. According to a November poll, only 32% of Americans approved of Biden’s handling of the economy.
Biden and his allies have insisted that the economy is robust and blame the disconnect with voters on the media. However, there are signs that the economy may not be as rosy as the surface-level statistics indicate.
Homelessness increased 12% through 2023, reaching its highest recorded level. Americans are increasingly dipping into their savings and until last month, food prices were outpacing general inflation, further stretching voters’ wallets.
Furthermore, 61% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck and 74% say they are stressed about their finances.
Part of that may be because wages never caught up with inflation, and Americans are typically used to 2% inflation. While inflation has slowed significantly since its peak, that increase is on top of an already historic increase that consumers struggled through last year. Until and if wages catch up, Americans are likely to continue feeling financially stressed.