Nate Silver hit out at Bidenomics, noting that “real wages and income haven’t grown” since Joe Biden assumed the presidency in early 2021.
Silver was engaged in back-and-forth arguments on the X social media platform with those who argue that wages have grown despite public opinion polls which show widespread dissatisfaction with the economy.
“In a lot of income- and wage- based measures, there has been little if any growth in real USD since Biden took office, which seems relevant if we’re asking why people are unhappy with Biden’s economy,” Silver tweeted Wednesday.
The former 538 editor then posted a chart from the St. Louis Fed which shows that real disposable personal income has remained largely flat throughout most of Biden’s presidency.
The chart “shows people having no more income in real terms than they had when Biden took office,” according to Silver.
“You would not expect a president to be re-elected with zero income growth.”
He noted that “the balance sheet impact shows up in the savings rate data, which is historically low.”
Silver was arguing with researchers who were questioning why Biden’s approval rating was so low despite record low unemployment and strong growth.
Will Stancil, a researcher, noted that “it’s pretty weird for the guy with very low unemployment, all-time high earnings, rapid GPD growth, and high consumption to have an economic approval of like 25%.”
Silver responded that “inflation has often had a big impact.”
Voter sentiment can also be attributed to having faced “the worst pandemic in 100 years with tremendously disruptive economic impacts, immediately followed by the worst inflation in 50 years,” according to Silver.
In another post, Silver said that those who are trying to figure out why voters have soured on Biden’s handling of the economy “are trying to spin or cheerlead for Democrats.”
“It just feels like gaslighting to imply that nobody should be upset about the fact that prices are 18% higher than when Biden took office after a couple of decades when inflation was a rounding error,” according to Silver.
He said that the economy under Biden “is not great” and that while “it’s strong on some dimensions and weak on others…the weak dimensions also happen to be consumer-facing.”
The Post has sought comment from the White House.
During most of the Biden presidency, inflation has outpaced wage growth.
Before May, the US saw 25 consecutive months of declining real wages — which is also known as “adjusted wages,” or the amount a person can expect to receive after factoring in the inflation rate.
The soaring inflation rates that started peaking in 2021 meant that consumer prices were outpacing nominal wage growth — effectively resulting in a pay cut for Americans who struggled to keep up with cost of living increases.
Since Biden took office, the typical American family has effectively lost $7,300 off their annual income.
Inflation rose 3.1% in November, which was down slightly from October’s 3.2% reading. The Fed has hiked interest rates in the last two years in hopes of bringing inflation down to 2%.
Fed chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the historic tightening of monetary policy is likely over, with a discussion of cuts in borrowing costs coming “into view.”
His comments sent the stock market soaring to record highs.
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