President Joe Biden speaks during the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s annual Days of Remembrance ceremony on the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Watching President Joe Biden sit down for an interview always reminds me of “University Days,” a chapter in the great American humorist James Thurber’s 1933 autobiography, My Life and Hard Times.
Thurber tells the story of a fellow student in his economics class who was one of the standout football players at Ohio State University, a kicker named Bolenciecwcz. “In order to play, it was necessary for him to continue his education, which is a very difficult matter, because he was not stupid like an ox, he was not smart,” writes Thurber.
All of Bolenciecwcz’s professors helped him, especially before the big game against Illinois. When it was the star player’s turn to answer a question, the economics professor asked him, “Name me one vehicle.”
As Bolenciecwcz “sat and looked at it,” the professor offered more clues. “May I suggest the one we usually carry on long land trips,” he said.
“There was a deep silence in which everyone shuffled awkwardly,” writes Thurber, until the professor “suddenly broke the silence in a wonderful way. “Cho-cho-cho,” he said in a low voice, immediately turning scarlet.
Many people in journalism must cringe at the kind of ridiculous softball questions that are routinely asked of Biden, whose overwhelming success at the job has pushed his job approval rating to 35%, according to an April Pew Research poll. Did you know that her favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate chip? Of course you did, he was asked this question many times. Did you know that a congressional investigation found that “Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign associate who raked in millions for his family” and “deceived the American people by claiming he ‘didn’t’ interact with his family’s foreign business associates,” according to bank records. And the witness statement?
You probably didn’t know that. Even a simple question like “What business is your family in?” It can be unanswerable for the big guy, and fans certainly don’t want to be responsible for knocking a star out of a game.
So it was surprising to see CNN’s Erin Burnett interviewing Biden about the state of the U.S. economy on Wednesday as the president sat and stared at her with a frozen, stunned expression.
“The cost of buying a home in the United States is double what it was when you look at your monthly expenses, before the pandemic,” Burnett said. “Real incomes, when you account for inflation, have actually declined since you took office, last week economic growth fell short of expectations.” Consumer confidence, perhaps unsurprisingly, is at an almost two-year low. With less than six months to go before Election Day, are you worried you’re running out of time to sort this out?”
“We’ve already turned it around,” Biden said. He pointed to the positive reaction of financial markets to last week’s negative economic news. “One of the reasons people feel good about it not being as strong as it used to be is that they believe the Fed will respond.”
Burnett was not impressed. “They’re hoping they’re going to cut the rate,” he said.
This led to Biden’s delusional boast that he has the best record of any president at “reducing inflation.” On camera, in front of everyone, Biden said of inflation: “It was 9 percent when I came into office. Nine percent. “
Not according to the US government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In the first half of 2020, inflation measured by the increase in the consumer price index was 1.8%. In the second half of 2020, it was 1.6%. Biden took the oath of office on January 20, 2021. Inflation was 1.4% in that month. But just three months later, inflation jumped to 3.0%, reaching 5.5% by December 2021. Inflation in 2022 was more than 6%. It slowed down to 5.4% in the first half of 2023, to 4.2% in the second half, and is currently at 3.8%.
Remember, these numbers are cumulative. Prices went up because the purchasing power of your dollar went down and they went up again and it went down again.
The president allowed that “people have a right to be concerned, ordinary people,” then said, “The idea that you bounce a check and you get $30 to cash the check, I’ve changed that.” Biden boasted that he had reduced fees for bounced checks and late credit card payments. “I mean, there’s corporate greed going on there,” he said.
Even Thurber’s football classmate would be embarrassed to give such an answer.
“It’s a real pain,” Burnett noted. “Grocery prices are up 30 percent, more than 30 percent since the start of the pandemic, and people are spending more on food and groceries than at any time in the last 30 years actually.” I mean, it’s a real everyday pain that people feel.”
“It’s real,” Biden said, “but the fact is, if you look at what people have, they have money to spend.” He then spoke again about corporate greed, complaining, “Snickers bar, they did something and it’s 20 percent less for the same price.”
Yes, life in America is great under Joe Biden, everyone is just cashing checks and eating chocolate bars
The president’s tone-deaf remark that people “have money to spend” on higher prices may be reminiscent of recent comments by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who told investors in April: “American consumers still have excess savings.” But Dimon warned that low-income earners are running out of money quickly, and said the bank is starting to see problems in the subprime auto loan market.
Well, nothing bad happened from the problems with subprime loans.
Has anyone in the Biden administration ever taken an economics class? maybe not The chairman of the US Council of Economic Advisers, Jared Bernstein, has a bachelor’s degree in music, a master’s degree in social work, and a doctorate in social welfare.
I wonder if he ever played football.
Email Susan@SusanShelley.com and follow her on Twitter @Susan_Shelley