PrintBiden's Midterm Math Grade: Zero Point Zero
On September 2, Karine Jean-Pierre announced, "We have created nearly ten thousand million jobs since President Biden took office, which is the fastest job growth in history." The Biden administration's job numbers equate to 30 times the U.S. population; Jean-Pierre's qualifier of "fastest job growth in history" reads more oblivious than insightful.
The press secretary's slip of the tongue may have been innocent, but as far as we know, the president could have given her those figures. Biden plays fast and loose with numbers, to the point where one must question his ability to comprehend basic arithmetic. Here are five recent miscalculations signaling that he needs to enroll in remedial math classes.
8.5% = 0
This August, President Biden boasted to American citizens, "our economy had zero percent inflation in July." Critics quickly pointed to the problematic context of Biden's numerical bravado. While the month-to-month change in overall inflation from June to July may have been zero, the year-to-year change was 8.5%. In a piece for the American Institute of Economic Research, Peter C. Earle verified the rarity of 0% monthly inflation "changes," while also noting the broad effect of Consumer Price Index changes on goods. Earle concluded, "Even for an administration desperate for good news, touting a meaningless statistical aberration as an achievement is a pitiful turn."
349,000 = 163,000
With the proposed rule changes to Title IX, the Biden administration redefines "sex" and ignores a majority Supreme Court opinion limiting gender identity–based discrimination to Title VII. Grassroots organizations led intense campaigns to reject the Title IX policy changes that would allow boys in girls bathrooms, abuse parental rights, and label pronoun misuse as discrimination. A record number of critical comments were left on the government registrar. Politico noted over 349,000 comments by September 6. By September 8, however, the comments numbered 163,000; approximately 186,000 comments disappeared. The Defense of Freedom Institute (DFI), an organization assisting grassroots groups in educating citizens on the Title IX rule change, is demanding answers. Writing in their public records request to the Department of Education, DFI states:
The famed British economist, John Maynard Keynes, is believed to have stated that "it is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong," but the wildly ricocheting tally of comments officially submitted in response to the [Notice of Proposed Rule Making] defies all logic.
50 Illegal Aliens = Humanitarian Crisis
Florida governor Ron DeSantis sent approximately 50 illegal aliens to Martha's Vineyard this month. Martha's Vineyard prides itself on inclusivity and respect for all. Posters distributed on the island read, "All Are Welcome Here" and "We stand with IMMIGRANTS." Upon arrival of the few dozen migrants to the sanctuary site, Martha's Vineyard tweeted updates about the unfolding "humanitarian crisis" on the Island. The solution? Shipping the interlopers away within 48 hours of their arrival to meet 125 National Guard members deployed by Massachusetts's Governor Baker. Biden accused Republicans of performing "political stunts" in transferring migrants to sanctuary sites. Placing this humanitarian crisis into context, Martha's Vineyard would need to receive 24,000 more illegal aliens to match the proportion of immigrants to residents that Del Rio, Texas experienced in July.
1 Footnote = Negative 72,277 COVID Deaths
COVID calculations prove quite perplexing to Democrats. In January, Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor declared nearly 100,000 children were on ventilators due to COVID infections, when hospitalized pediatric patients at the time numbered 4,000. A 2021 Gallup Poll demonstrated that Democrats were significantly more likely than Republicans to overestimate the hospitalization risk of COVID-19. And according to the CDC, a "coding error" led to an excess of 72,277 COVID deaths in its tracking system as of March 2022. Included in the error were 416 nonexistent pediatric deaths. Once corrected, reported pediatric deaths fell by 23.7%. As stated in The Guardian, the Biden CDC thought this numerical error worthy of only a brief footnote: "[t]he [CDC] briefly noted the change in a footnote, although the note did not explain how the error occurred or how long it was in effect."
1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back
Heritage economist E.J. Antoni exposed the double-counting behind the employment numbers touted by President Biden this summer. Biden stated that the 315,000 jobs created in August meant, "The American jobs machine continues to come back." Unfortunately, as Antoni reports, Biden's number does not include the revisions from prior months. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), initial job numbers are preliminary. Final numbers for the month are posted two months following the preliminary number. The revised numbers for June and July dropped by 107,000, and therefore, as Antoni explains, "about a third of the jobs added in August were jobs we thought the economy already had."
Riddled with countless (or perhaps ten thousand million) numerical impossibilities, Biden Arithmetic surpasses even Woke Math's 2+2=5 in its absurdity. Within the past six months under the current administration, COVID deaths and Title IX comments have disappeared, inflation numbers are underrepresented, and jobs numbers are overrepresented. Fifty illegal aliens constitute a "humanitarian crisis." Meanwhile, millions of migrant encounters have occurred at our southern border this year, and Vice President Harris declares the border "secure."
With these blatant miscalculations, one pictures Biden on the receiving end of Dean Wormer's wrath in the movie Animal House. As Dean Wormer delivers midterm grades, he would turn to President Blutarsky Biden and gravely pronounce, "Mr. President. Zero. Point. Zero." Unfortunately for the American public, President Biden isn't a fictional character. His inability to employ basic math skills have real-world consequences.
