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It’s official: Majority of Americans blame Biden for higher prices, shrinking paychecks

November 22, 2021 | | Print Article

As Americans prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, many are experiencing so-called ‘sticker shock’ at the grocery store as they are forced to pay more for just about everything they buy.

And in fact, it’s not just food: The gasoline they put in their vehicles so they can shop is higher this year, too. A lot higher. And so is the price of energy overall.

Nearly everything Americans need and use most costs more this year than it has in decades. According to the Consumer Price Index, released by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier this month, prices for everyday consumer goods rose a whopping 6.2 percent in October.

Everything from food and gasoline to rent and health care costs has risen dramatically over the course of President Biden’s 10 months in office after administration officials claimed earlier this year that inflation was “transitory.”

But that has proven to be false, and Americans know it. And they’re blaming him.

According to a new survey from CBS News, more than two-thirds of Americans, or 67 percent, cite Biden for rising prices that shrink their paychecks.

“With many problems that present themselves, Americans nonetheless evaluate a president on how well it’s addressed once it happens. Biden gets among his lowest marks on handling inflation of all the issues tested,” the network noted in a tweet.

Just one-third of Americans, or 33 percent, give Biden high marks for his handling of the issue.

“The results of the poll did not bode well for Biden, with less than half of respondents approving of his handling of major issues such as race relations, the economy, immigration and inflation,” The Hill reported, citing the CBS News/YouGov survey.

What’s more, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) went on to rate the U.S. economy as either “fairly bad” or “very bad.”

The supply chain crisis that has befallen the administration is also contributing to the White House’s lousy economic polling numbers.

“When asked about their recent shopping experiences, 82 percent of those surveyed said items are costing more than they did not long ago, while roughly two-thirds of participants said items they are looking for are often not in stock,” The Hill noted.

The same survey found that Biden’s overall approval rating is 44 percent, which is higher than a USA Today/Suffolk University poll published earlier this month that had him at 38 percent approval — which was, at least, 10 points higher than his vice president, Kamala Harris, who clocked in at a meager 28 percent approval.

What’s worse for the administration, most experts don’t see a quick resolution to higher prices.

“I do think we’re moving into a new phase where inflation is broader and where things are going to get more intense,” Laura Rosner-Warburton, a senior economist at MarcoPolicy Perspectives, told The Wall Street Journal this month.

“Part of that reflects that [supply-chain] bottlenecks are not resolved going into the holiday season when a lot of purchases get made, and that economy is doing really well, so you have strong demand,” she noted further.

Kathy Bostjancic, chief U.S. financial economist at Oxford Economics, also told the paper that she expects inflation to continue rising.

“The bigger picture is we’re likely to see inflation climb higher,” she said. “Things are going to get worse before they get better.”

Missy Halsey
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