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UNDERRATED: Why isn’t Biden getting credit for his economic successes?
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Occupy Democrats
December 6, 2023

UNDERRATED: Why isn’t Biden getting credit for his economic successes?

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November 18, 2023

There are two main worries that most people carry around about the chances for the re-election of President Biden: his age (not a concern at all to many of us) and the public’s perception of inflation and prices at the grocery store.

Both messages these perceptions are wrong and will be taken care of before the election in 2024.

The age issue will disappear in the debates. President Biden will walk circles around Trump in debates, and he will appear to be the sharper one. Trump has been making a lot of gaffes on the campaign trail of late.

And Biden knows what he’s talking about.

As for inflation, the perception lingers, and perception is reality when it comes to voters. But prices are dropping faster than people think, and it has a whole year to sink in.

Moreover, President Biden muscled through more legislation than people realize.

I have said it before and will say it again. President Biden had the most consequential first two years of a presidency since Reagan. Reagan obviously went consequential in the wrong direction, but he certainly changed the country.

But Biden’s infrastructure bill and Inflation Reduction Act were so sweeping, so broad, that they necessarily will take two to three years for people to really feel and appreciate, and that third year will be 2024.

Prices are dropping:

And they will continue to drop. We need only fight the perception because the MAGA extremists will be bitching about it all year.

Meanwhile, as prices fall, wages will necessarily rise. Biden’s administration has created more jobs than any administration ever. Moreover, the country simply doesn’t have enough workers to fill these jobs.

Indeed, one of the reasons that the GOP is focused so intently on the border is that the smarter ones know that there are too few workers in the United States, and we actually need far more immigrants.

The economy would heat up even more if we had people to fill the jobs required.

But as Adam Smith will tell you, the more demand for jobs, the higher the wages. Even the average Walmart worker now makes $15.20 per hour. Admittedly, that’s near criminal, but it is also about $5.00 an hour more than just five to ten years ago when the average Walmart worker working one job with two children qualified for SNAP.

Walmart is the biggest private employer in the United States. It matters.

As for the “green jobs” that Biden passed, those will be even higher-wage jobs, much higher. As CNBC reports:

“As for specific ‘green jobs,’ according to Pollin, a job in the wind energy sector has an average annual compensation of $80,300; a job in solar energy has an average salary of $74,500; and a job in geothermal energy has an average annual salary of $88,200. In energy efficiency, a job doing building retrofits pays an average of $64,500; making industrial efficiencies pays an average of $81,500; and a job in high-efficiency autos pays $89,400 on average, he says.”

None of this reality will matter unless the narrative changes. It is up to us to change that narrative.

In every environment in which you mix with MAGA fanatics — work, church, softball leagues, school functions (involving adults), and anything else — the conversation turns to something on the economy, it is on us to reach the average, everyday MAGA.

It is also getting harder for Fox News to ignore.

Yes, 90% of MAGA Republicans are going to vote for Trump even if the economy was like the late 50s and early 60s when we were rebuilding Europe and making cars and building interstate highways here. But it will be better – the numbers say it will be better.

But even 5% to 10% will swing the election.

Commercials will be made. Biden will campaign on Bidenomics. And the House GOP will ensure — by all appearances and in reality — that the GOP MAGA extremists cannot govern themselves out of a paper bag.

But it is still on us to spread the message of Biden’s economic success. We will have the truth backing us up.

I can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com and on X @JasonMiciak.

Editor’s note: This is an opinion column that solely reflects the opinions of the author.

Jason Miciak
Jason Miciak is an associate editor and opinion writer for Occupy Democrats. He's a Canadian-American who grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He is a trained attorney, but for the last five years, he's devoted his time to writing political news and analysis. He enjoys life on the Gulf Coast as a single dad to a 15-year-old daughter. Hobbies include flower pots, cooking, and doing what his daughter tells him they're doing. Sign up to get all of my posts by email right here:
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Jason Miciak is an associate editor and opinion writer for Occupy Democrats. He's a Canadian-American who grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He is a trained attorney, but for the last five years, he's devoted his time to writing political news and analysis. He enjoys life on the Gulf Coast as a single dad to a 15-year-old daughter. Hobbies include flower pots, cooking, and doing what his daughter tells him they're doing. Sign up to get all of my posts by email right here:

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December 6, 2023
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