Biden's economy claims fact-checked

By Al Mayadeen net
Source: Agencies
16 Mar 2022 08:28
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Biden's economy claims have been looked into and compared to reality, and unsurprisingly, the difference is striking.

US President Joe Biden

According to AP, faced with Republican blame over inflation, President Joe Biden inflated his involvement in decreasing the federal deficit and avoided accountability by claiming that a rush of government spending into the economy has no effect on rising prices when in fact, it does.

Deficit

Last Tuesday, Biden said, "Last year, the deficit dropped for the first time since 2015. It fell by $360 billion last year and this year it’s on track to drop by more than $1 trillion after four years in a row of increasing deficits before I took office. We’re now on a track to see the largest-ever decline in a deficit in American history.”

The reality, however, is that the improved economic situation in the country comes from the subsiding pandemic rather than decisions made by Biden.

The government is no longer distributing stimulus cheques and additional unemployment benefits, as it has done for the previous two years. In addition, tax income has surged as millions of Americans have found work and received increases. As a result, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget expects the federal government's annual deficit to fall to $1.2 trillion this year, down from $2.8 trillion in 2021 and a record $3 trillion in 2020.

Additionally, the government is collecting more payroll taxes, while it allowed their deferral during the pandemic.

Inflation

During a House Democratic conference in Philadelphia, the President remarked that he was "sick" of political rhetoric on inflation. He added, "We have to talk about it because the American people think the reason for inflation is the government is spending more money. Simply not true.”

The facts? Though government spending is not the only reason for rising prices, it is a crucial one.

Last year, Biden approved the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue plan, which many economists believe drove inflation to run higher than it would have otherwise.

However, the problem is that Biden injected more money into the economy than it could handle.

Gas prices

Republicans have blamed Democrats for their failed policies and false efforts to blame the rising gas prices on 3 weeks of a Ukraine crisis.

According to tweets by Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy, the "out-of-touch" policies and denial of their mistakes is what put America in its current economic condition.

AP noted that Republicans may be reaching too far with their analysis, as global production is not being met with global demands as the world returns to pre-pandemic normalcy.

The pandemic crushed demand for oil in 2020.

Biden signs gov't funding bill including $13.6 bn aid to Ukraine

Yesterday, Biden signed legislation - the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2022 - funding the US federal government and also providing aid to Ukraine amid the crisis.

The legislation will fund the federal government through September 30, 2022, and will provide $13.6 billion in humanitarian, economic, and defense aid to Ukraine.

Biden said the legislation sends a message that Republicans and Democrats can come together to get something done and fulfill their responsibility to keep the government open and serving Americans.

Just three days ago, the Biden administration authorized another $200 million of assistance to Ukraine.

Last Friday, Biden signed legislation to finance federal government operations in the near term to prevent a government shutdown.

The continuing resolution approved by Biden finances the government until March 15, allowing time for a massive $1.5 trillion federal spending package to reach Biden's desk.