The media are working very, very hard -- in conjunction with the White House -- to gaslight all of us into thinking the economy is fine, and we're just too stupid to notice it.
But then they'll come out and report things like this, without realizing the massive cognitive dissonance it takes:
Parents with younger children saw a dramatic drop-off in their financial well-being last year, according to a study by the Federal Reserve.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 27, 2024
The Fed says some monthly childcare costs have climbed to nearly as much as monthly rent. https://t.co/NtfO82dSju
Parents with younger children saw a significant drop-off in their reported financial well-being last year, according to an annual comprehensive study of American household finances released by the Federal Reserve last week.
The Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking found a decline in the percentage of parents living with children under age 18 who felt financially secure, dropping from 69% in 2022 to 64% in 2023. That was also down from a record high of 75% in 2021.
The current figure is now the lowest on record going back to 2015, the Fed survey data shows.
The Fed does not explicitly state the reason for the dramatic decline in sentiment among those who participated in the survey, though it does note that the monthly child care expenses some families are facing have climbed to nearly as much as the cost of rent.
Experts say that is the product of two key recent events that have destabilized many American families’ finances: the expiration of the pandemic-era expanded child tax credit — which saw some families receive monthly payments of up to $250 per older child and $300 per young child — and the sunsetting of support for child care groups.
The media and the White House can spin this all they want.
They are, largely, insulated from the realities of Bidenomics because they live in wealthy enclaves with cushy jobs that can weather inflation better than the average American.
But the people who aren't so privileged know the truth: the economy is not good.
Things are more expensive. Budgets are tight. Income is not keeping up with inflation. And there's no relief in sight.
So I beg the media and the White House, implore them, to keep gaslighting us on this.
If there's anything American's love it's being told our reality isn't reality, and that we're too stupid or naive to realize just how good we have it.
It is the absolute height of political arrogance for the Biden administration to pretend everything is fine -- and to lie about the things that aren't going well -- to win an election.
As I've written about before, the Left is going to focus on abortion, and abortion uber alles, in this election. It's the only card they've got left to play. They can't run on the economy, they can't run on border security, crime, or international relations.
But this election is going to come down to one overarching question: are you better off now economically speaking, in 2024, than you were in 2020? They answer, for a majority of Americans, is a resounding NO. No, we are not.
Food costs more.
Gas costs more.
Rent costs more.
Taxes are going up (even though Biden promised those making less than $400,000 wouldn't see a penny increase in taxes).
In 2016, Trump was the unknown entity and the same was true of Biden (despite his decades in federal politics) in 2020. But we've had four years to see the fruits of Biden's economic, domestic, and foreign policies. And those fruits are rotten. Trump may be boorish, he may be brash, he may post untoward things on Truth Social.
But at least we could afford to live under Trump.
At least Trump didn't sneer at us and tell us the inflation we see with our own eyes isn't real.
And when voters go to the polls in November, this is what they'll have in mind: can I afford to feed, educate, and care for my children with Joe Biden as president?
No, they cannot. And they'll vote accordingly. No gaslighting in the world can change that.
