Ronald Reagan was elected during the period of malaise and stagflation created by Jimmy Carter, our third worst president.  The economy was so horrible that economists had to invent a new metric, the misery index, which was calculated by adding the unemployment and inflation rates.  Going into the election of 1980, the misery index stood at a staggering 22 percent.

President Reagan put America on a path to economic recovery with policies to

• balance the federal budget,
• limit government growth,
• reduce regulatory burden on the private sector,
• lower taxes, and
• tighten the money supply to control inflation.

We experienced a couple of tough years while climbing out of our economic doldrums, but eventually Reagan’s policies worked and ushered in a period of economic boom.  Reagan’s landslide re-election in 1984 was largely due to the economic recovery, which he had piloted America through.  His policies became known as Reaganomics.

Now our modest Oval Office occupant has decided that if the Gipper can have an economic recovery named after him, then his legacy needs one, too.  Joe has sent his propaganda ministry forth to talk about the miracle of Bidenomics — which is a tad different from Reaganomics in both implementation and outcomes.

Joe Biden is promising long-term economic prosperity through

• massive accumulation of debt,
• raising taxes,
• growing government bureaucracy at an unprecedented rate,
• increasing government regulations,
• tampering with free enterprise,
• opening our borders, and
• crushing the middle class to finance the expansion of the ultra-wealthy and freeloader classes.

We’re assured that the numbers don’t lie, even if the propagandists do.  We should forget our concerns, as everything is going swimmingly.  We just don’t recognize it because we don’t have Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s degree in economics.

Inflation is down.  It’s only twice what the Federal Reserve thinks it should be for a healthy economy.

More jobs have been created by Bidenomics than by any other administration in history.  In September, 336,000 jobs were created.  Of course, 22 percent of those new employees are “public servants” living on our taxes.  The remainer are people who’ve been allowed to go back to work after the pandemic lockdowns — at least until the next election.

After a little tampering with the energy and manufacturing sectors, wages are up, and global warming is down.  Or is it that climate change has changed back?  I forget.  I guess it depends on whether it’s snowing or sweltering today.

You can’t argue with the squiggly lines on the economist’s graph paper.  Bidenomics is just like Reaganomics — only better, because it was done by a compassionate Democrat and not a heartless Republican.  In fact, if it weren’t for the obstructionist MAGA semi-fascists we could have reached peak prosperity and national harmony by now.

It's amazing there’s enough natural gas for all of the gaslighting, given Joe’s energy policies.  Maybe that’s why we need to ban gas stoves — to divert some BTUs to the propaganda industry.

But the human reality may be somewhat different from what the Bidenomics cheerleaders are claiming.  If everything is so swell, why are only 28 percent of voters satisfied with the economy (according to an NBC News poll)?  Are we ignorant or just ungrateful for the blessings of Bidenomics?  Or could it be something else?

Is it possible that Americans are watching different economic indicators from the economists with the Nobel Prizes?  Something a bit more personal?

Are Americans watching their bank balances?  Marketplace reports that the rate of personal savings has declined to its lowest level in 17 years — about a quarter of what it was before the pandemic.  According to Northwestern Mutual's 2022 Planning & Progress Study, personal savings balances have dropped 15 percent from 2021 to 2022.  That works out to an average of $9,000 per family in lost savings.  Americans are consuming their savings to survive.

At the same time, the Federal Reserve is reporting that Americans have amassed nearly $17 trillion of debt, and loan defaults are at a 10-year high. Are Americans pessimistic about the economy because they’re starting to field calls from bill collectors?

Perhaps Americans are looking at the shuttered fronts of their family businesses.  According to the Harvard University Economic Tracker, nearly 40 percent of small businesses have closed their doors since the pandemic lockdowns.

Are Americans comparing their paycheck to their monthly bills?  According to Investopedia, a staggering 80 percent of Americans claim to be living paycheck to paycheck.  Seventy-eight percent report that they would have difficulty meeting their financial obligations if their paychecks were delayed for even a week.  That means that for 8 out of 10 people, an unexpected expense (like a car repair) would cause them to miss some other payment — like rent.

According to 2022 data from the U.S. Census, the number of Americans living below poverty level increased by 68 percent (from 7.4 percent to 12.4 percent) between 2021 and 2022.  Shouldn’t Bidenomics be making that number go in the other direction?

Let me explain the human reality of Bidenomics to Joe.  It means that a weekly vacation to the beach in Delaware isn’t even a casual daydream for most Americans.  Such luxuries are unthinkable when wrestling with how to buy groceries and new shoes for the kids this month.  It means planning to work additional years before retiring, because everyone’s savings has declined, and what’s left isn’t worth as much.  It means dreading phone calls because they’re as likely to be from bill collectors as from friends and family.  And don’t even think of missing tax payments to pay the rent.  Joe has a new 80,000-man army of tax collectors to ensure that the federal government gets its money first.

Anyone who thinks the economy will improve over the next year — while under the guidance of someone who gauges economic vibrancy by his daily ice cream selection — doesn’t understand the fundamentals.

Energy prices can’t come down while we choke domestic energy production in a mad dash to transition to batteries — which we don’t have the electricity to charge.

Inflation cannot be tamed while we continue to amass trillions of dollars of debt each year and increase business expenses with burdensome federal regulations.  The Biden administration added over 72,000 pages of regulations in its first year alone — which added over $200 billion to the cost of products.

Pay increases will not keep pace with the cost of living while we flood the workforce with cheap illegal labor.

Nope.  Bidenomics will be with us as long as Biden and his merry band of radicals are calling the shots.

I encourage all Americans to embrace the term “Bidenomics.”  Joe created this mess, and he’s showing no inclination to redirect his policies.  His name should be attached to it.

By next year, Bidenomics will be shorthand for destitution, repossession, and disappointing the kiddies on Christmas morning.  If Joe wants to name this anchor around our neck Bidenomics, I say we oblige him, and keep repeating it until the election of 2024.  By November of next year, we need to make sure that every person who must work two jobs to make ends meet knows that he is experiencing the reality of Biden economics.  Then we’ll see if it’s still “the economy, stupid.”

John Green is a political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho.  He writes for the American Free News Network and can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.