One of the most predictable aspects of modern U.S. policies — and the politics that follow them — is the fancy rhetoric that follows them.
Take, for example, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The federal policy put forward by Congress and signed by President Biden aimed to reduce the federal deficit and reduce inflation. In reality, the deficit doubled since 2022 and imposed additional taxes on large businesses.
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“I wish I hadn’t called it that because it has less to do with reducing inflation than it has to do with providing alternatives that generate economic growth,” Biden said at a fundraiser in August.
Many of those so-called alternatives that generate economic growth are summed up by the umbrella term Bidenomics, or a collection of policies and ideas put forth by the Biden administration that many in Washington are trying to sell ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election.
United States Council of Economic Advisers chair Jared Bernstein appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” on Tuesday morning to do just that.
Host Joe Kernen was skeptical, though, pressing Bernstein on the efficacy of the President’s plan.
“Only one third of Americans consistently buy in to your contention that Bidenomics is working,” Kernen said. “Maybe you need to come on every day, because it’s not working — your message.”
Top economist defends Bidenomics
Bernstein, however, thinks the issue isn’t with Bidenomics so much as it is with the polls’ verbiage.
“I think the polls that you’re reflecting are oftentimes very much 30 or 40,000 feet up. I’m not discounting them, by the way, I know they’re very real. But I want to tell you a little bit about the poll results that ask about the specific components of Bidenomics.”
Bernstein explained that, in many cases, polls are misleading and seek to probe political ideology rather than legislative literacy.
“82% support capping insulin costs for seniors at $35 a month,” he said, citing drug price caps, a key policy the Biden admin has been pushing. “81% support giving Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prescription drugs, which, by the way, is now very much in the system and is now helping to reduce the deficit — the other point you just raised — which cuts the deficit by over $100 billion over 10 years.”
The U.S. deficit currently sits at approximately $222 billion.
“79% support creating tax incentives to create more manufacturing jobs. 800,000 manufacturing jobs since this president has gotten here, and some really great investment indicators with investments coming off the sidelines,” Bernstein added.
“Now look, my point here is that you can barely get 80% of Americans to agree on anything. And here they are, line after line, agreeing about the importance of components of Bidenomics,” he added. “So I think it’s an inaccurate narrative to declare somehow that Bidenomics isn’t working or that it’s not favorably received by people when you drill down into what it really is.”
