Biden's economics? Bring it on. On January 5, 2024 my son paid $2.28 a gallon in Denver for gas. When Trump left office, it was $2.12 a gallon. How much it costs for consumers to pay for a tank of gas is how many consumers judge the state of the economy. There are shoots of green in general as consumer confidence indexes improve. If that is the case, the GOP making a big deal of gas at the pump prices, so drill baby drill, will find that campaign strategy a nothing burger by election time in November. Eventually, Biden will get credit where credit is due, and it will be in time for fall.
In response to a FB post that they are worse off than they were before: So sorry you feel left behind. So few are without jobs now and those working have seen wages go up which was over 4% more than the current inflation rate of 3%. That is an average and for some reason, you are below average. The winners have been blue-collar workers, and if you are in high tech you may be hurting. I have both in my immediate family. By all other measures, the GDP growth is the top in the world. Consumer confidence is on the upswing.
Why do I think that?
It is already happening. Americans are actually pretty happy with their finances (axios.com)
https://www.conference-board.org/topics/consumer-confidence/press/CCI-Dec-2023#:~:text=Consumers%20End%202023%20with%20a,downwardly%20revised%20101.0%20in%20November.
Biden deserves credit for record oil production to offset the impact of the Ukraine war and the end of COVID pent-consumer demand. He can't take a victory lap because of pressure from those in his party who want less drilling of fossil fuels now and forever. Biden can take credit for policies that begin the transition to green.
The answer for Biden is to argue that gas and oil are still needed in the transition to green. It is temporary both as public policy and necessity. Natural gas in particular is the bridge to green since it is less environmentally damaging than oil.. It is up to the government not to lose sight of the goal: going green and developing the technology and production and consumer acceptance simultaneously. in the transition. Biden has threaded that needle by keeping his eyes on the ball in battery and EV production support. New concerns that may hike gasoline prices are emerging in the Red Sea as Houthi pirates have forced commerce, including fossil fuels, to take a much longer route around Africa instead of through the Red Sea and the canal. No wonder there is greater focus on that issue. The chaos and damage to the economy upon a Trump re-election could also cause a setback MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: How Trump election would create chaos in our economy on day one
The following of a December 21, 2023 post. MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Why Biden feels frustrated that Biden'economics are not felt in the polls, but it is temporary.
Recently there was some good news. US Consumer Confidence Increased Again in December (conference-board.org) Consumer confidence indicators improved, but not before Biden's approval ratings tanked (his handling of the Israel-Hamas war was a factor too), but long term and until November 2024, it will be about how consumers feel themselves about the economy.
Consumer confidence is also tied to consumer price inex, as well. Prices go up, and they lose confidence. Going down, prices are slow to register, but it happens eventually. The most sensitive to consumers are prices at the pump. The reason Biden gets frustrated is that one fact playing the most in consumers' minds is how much it costs to fill up a tank at the pump. The problem is, that Biden has little control over it since prices per barrel are set by the oil cartels abroad, and demand and supply depend upon consumers' actions, refinery capacity, and supply availability.. One thing Biden should get credit for is increasing supply. Record U.S. oil production is pushing prices down (axios.com)
Prices always peak in spring and summer and decline later. https://www.energy.gov/
Drill baby drill, shouts Trump from his platform and the gullible cheer. Wait a minute, uninformed, the US is producing and exporting the most oil in history. Not only that, we have offset Russian and OPEC, and Ukriane factors. "Not only is the U.S. producing more oil than any country in history, but the amount of oil (crude oil, refined products and natural gas liquids) that it is exporting is near the total production of Saudi Arabia." As 2024 Approaches U.S. Leads Global Crude Oil Production (forbes.com) Biden can take credit for increasing supply,Record U.S. oil production is pushing prices down (axios.com)
Nonetheless, that is politics, like it or not. Prices go up, and opponents point blame; prices go down, and opponents shut up. So...let us look at the relationship between price per gallon and how consumers feel (confidence). Now that the price per gallon has really dropped, consumer confidence is going back up.as the price at the pump goes down. Today, it is good news for Biden...and again in November 2024.
This summer:
Now: December 2023
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