WASHINGTON—The Biden administration today announced its advance estimate for third-quarter annualized real gross domestic product (GDP) growth was just 2.6%. During all of 2022, GDP barely budged, up a miniscule 0.08%. The number comes amid four-decade highs in inflation and gas and food prices, with wages falling behind the rise in inflation.
Joel Griffith, research fellow in the Roe Institute at The Heritage Foundation, released the following statement in response to this latest troubling economic data that shows the U.S. economy still struggling under Biden’s policies:
“The economy continues to suffer as a direct result of Joe Biden and his administration’s reckless spending, war on American energy production, and oppressive federal regulations. The mighty engine that used to be the American economy is now stalled, and the consequences are impacting Americans daily. Savings rates are near all-time lows as working families cope with more than $6,000 in lost purchasing power thanks to inflation. Consumer debt is exploding as families turn to credit cards for groceries, gasoline, and even rent as the cost of living continues to rise faster than wages. Private domestic investment continued its plunge, with the worst back-to-back quarterly decline since 2009.
“We are reaping the consequences of trillions of dollars printed by the Federal Reserve to finance record levels of government spending, engineered by politicians to paper over the senseless COVID-19 restrictions. Millions of workers approaching retirement are opening up their retirement statements shocked to realize a quarter of their savings have disappeared as the stock and bond markets crumble—and many new retirees face a more uncertain future as well. Young families seeking to purchase their first home are discovering mortgage payments for an average home are often $3,000 a month—double the cost just two years ago. Home prices remain near record highs thanks to a government-induced bubble—even as mortgage rates hit the highest levels in more than 20 years. As a result, housing unaffordability is now at all-time lows.
“Meanwhile, this administration continues to stifle economic growth, spending money we don’t have and suppressing domestic energy supply through a regulatory assault, —including hurdles to new oil refineries, natural gas and oil pipelines, and resource development on federal lands. This recession caused by feckless policy blunders and radical leftist ideology is harming families, entrepreneurs, and businesses.”
BACKGROUND: Prices are up 13.2% since Biden took office and real wages are down 5.5%-- a loss of more than $6,000 in income for a typical working family. Savers and retirees are also hurting – the average working American’s 401(k) has lost $34,000 in 2022. Trillions of dollars in unfunded federal spending have fueled inflation and are driving interest rates up, increasing borrowing costs. Higher financing charges are costing the typical American family another $1,200 per year. The mortgage on a median-priced home is now $10,000 more expensive per year than when Biden took office. Over the course of a 30-year mortgage, that’s $300,000 more for the same house.
