---- Free To Share On Your Media Platforms ----
Veteran political operative James Carville is known for the memorable catchphrase of the 1992 presidential campaign, "It’s the economy, Stupid." This simple yet powerful message is often credited with helping Bill Clinton crystalize his message and secure victory. Vice President Kamala Harris seems to be rewriting this page of the domestic policy playbook. Her strategy appears to be empathizing with the American people over the economic turmoil they are experiencing, but not taking any responsibility for creating it.
Before, during and after the CNN interview with Dana Bash, Vice President Harris refused to take ownership of the Biden-Harris economy that has left hard working American families feeling uncertain about the future. The uncertainty comes from policies and lack of effective leadership from the Biden-Harris administration.
The state of the economy and how the candidates address it could be decisive in this closely contested race. At the writing of this article Vice President Harris still does not have any concrete policies listed on her website.
Harris surrogates and her champions in the activist journalist corps are praising the economy saying that household incomes are up and the U.S. economy is the envy of the world. These talking points are smoke and mirrors. Using this blind to reality messaging is a slap in the face of the millions of Americans who are suffering under the weight of inflation. We looked at the 13 most important metrics to consider when assessing the economy. The Trump-Pence administration outperformed the Biden-Harris administration in 9 of the 13 areas.
The Biden-Harris administration did lead in one important area, Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, if GDP growth is accompanied by high inflation, the purchasing power of American families is eroded. Even if wages increase, higher prices for goods and services can offset these gains, leaving families with less real income. Political elites are out of touch if they cannot see how inflationary pressure has eroded the purchasing power of everyday Americans, particularly those in lower and middle-income brackets. Household budgets across the country are straining to accommodate the increase in grocery prices, housing costs, and energy bills.
The Biden-Harris administration also boasts improved unemployment numbers. However, any honest review of unemployment numbers must consider the labor force participation rate. Democrats certainly wanted to consider it during the pre-pandemic Trump years, when they were loath to acknowledge a strong economy. But you rarely hear them address it now. We suspect that’s because the labor force participation rate suffers under Biden-Harris. The difference between Trump’s average of 62.68% and Biden’s average of 62.17% might seem small, but when applied to the entire U.S. working-age population, it can represent a significant number of people. That .51% difference translates to about 1.02 million people either entering or leaving the workforce. President Trump’s labor force participation rate reached 63.3% in February of 2020 before the pandemic.
Over the next two months, American voters will have to ask the important question, “Am I doing better under Biden-Harris than I did under President Trump?” With the federal debt ballooning to unprecedented levels, surpassing $33 trillion and American families struggling with basic necessities, the answer is pretty obvious.
----
The Bass Sisters: Dee Dee Bass Wilbon and Deana Bass Williams are sisters and co-founders of Bass Public Affairs a Washington, DC based public affairs firm. They co-host the podcast Policy & Pound Cake.
----
SUPPORT COMMON SENSE MEDIA
BPALiveWire is not in the pocket of corporate media. We are beholding to our readers and the truth. If you believe it is important to share African American free market, limited government voices in the media, support our work with a one-time or recurring contribution.
Comments