Quote (MildSambal @ 14 Aug 2024 01:08)
What policies over the last 4 years are attributed to the awful economic performance in the US?
I'll just copypaste older posts from my bookmark list:
Quote (myself from April 2024)
Biden pushed for yet another round of covid stimulus in the spring of 2021, at a time when vaccines were already rolling out at a good pace and we had clearly gotten through the worst parts of the pandemic. This policy surely didn't help with inflation.
And the data supports this notion: inflation in the US in January 2022 (the last month before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine) stood at 7.5% while it stood at 5.1% in the eurozone and at 5.4% in the UK. So there is evidence to attribute roughly 2-ish percent of extra inflation to Biden and his policies. (On top of the post-covid inflation which was inevitable.)
Furthermore, it was the Biden administration which pushed the West to respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine with a heavy focus on economic sanctions (as opposed to, e.g., quicker shipment of weapons). This caused additional turmoil on the global energy markets and thus further fueled inflation (above the degree of turmoil which was inevitable).
Regarding the housing market, well, it surely doesn't help when the resident population of the US grows by some 8 million illegal immigrants (on top of legal immigration and natural growth) over the span of less than 4 years.
Is Biden the lone culprit for the cost of living crisis? Absolutely not. Does he bear a significant share of the blame? Absolutely yes.
Quote (again by myself from late 2022)
First, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Throwing another $1.9 trillion onto an economy which was already flush with cash but strapped for spending opportunities was a recipe for inflation. And it was unnecessary; by March 2021, we were already getting a handle on the pandemic, the vaccination campaign was in full swing, summer was right around the corner etc. Second, the current inflation is fueled by global supply chain issues. Biden could have pushed for lifting the Jones Act to alleviate it.
Third, since the start of the war in Ukraine, an oil and (natural) gas price shock is fueling global inflation on top of everything else. Under a more fossil-friendly administration, the American fracking industry could have ramped up its production to counteract OPEC, like they did in 2014ff.[1] It wouldn't have happened immediately, particularly considering the deep hole the industry fell into during covid, but there would at least be light at the end of the tunnel. Instead, Biden and his surrogates essentially tell us that sky-high gas prices are here to stay and we better get used to it. (And if we behave well and keep voting for "democracy", we'll get some goodies from the strategic oil reserve every 2 years when campaign season comes around.)
Fourth, it was a mistake to react to Russia's invasion of Ukraine with an all-out economic war, and with energy sanctions in particular. This approach by the West (muted military response, aggressive economic sanctions) happened under the leadership of Biden, so he bears a fair share of the blame for its fallout.
[1] Considering current oil prices and global excess demand, we would expect the industry to invest a lot more than they currently are, which is quite clearly tied to the policies and openly hostile stance of the Biden admin.
This post was edited by Black XistenZ on Aug 14 2024 02:43am
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