Introduction

Under the Biden administration, the role of government in the economy has undergone its biggest shift since Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” in the 1930s. Rather than fear debt and inflation, Biden is flooding the economy with dollars and spending programs.

Most Americans say the result is they are worse off now than they were before Biden got into the White House.

Leading Economic Index Signals Trouble

The U. S. leading economic index fell .3 percent in February 2023, the eleventh decline in a row, continuing to signal an upcoming recession.

The leading economic index is a gauge of 10 indicators designed to show whether the economy is getting better or worse.

Americans Know TheyAre Worse Off

In February 2023, the online I&I/TIPP poll asked Americans “Are you better off today than you were two years ago?” The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points. 61 percent said they were NOT better off.

Since Ronald Reagan posed this question when he ran for president against Jimmy Carter in 1980, it has become a key gauge in presidential cycles. If an incumbent president has less than 40 percent of Americans saying they are better off than they were before the incumbent president took office, chances for reelection are not good.

According to a February 2023 Harris poll, 87 percent of Americans are concerned about the economy and 50 percent of Americans say their financial situation is getting worse.

Icahn Issues Grim Warning

During a March 14, 2023 interview on CNBC’s “Closing Bell”, billionaire investor Carl Icahn said the economy is at a breaking point, blaming “worse than mediocre” leadership and soaring inflation.

Icahn said he sees “major problems” in leadership on Capitol Hill and “in Washington nobody knows what is going on.”

Conclusion

Low, stable inflation and interest rates have powered the economy for the last three decades. As this scenario unravels, the country is facing its most challenging years since the 1980s.

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