A Biden restrospective
We're in the last few weeks of the first and (probably) only Biden administration, although if Trump can make a comeback four years later maybe Biden can also LOL.
So what were Biden's accomplishments and failures?
Most obviously, he failed at re-election and then failed the hand-off to a successor from his own party, and he wasn't popular for most of his term -- difficult for Democrats to comprehend was that Biden was as unpopular as his predecessor and then polled worse than his predecessor and then debated worse than his predecessor.
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We've mostly forgotten about it now, but more people died from COVID under Biden than under Trump, despite Biden's campaign vow to "follow the science".
The cash cost of living increased over 20% under Biden, while the federal minimum wage didn't increase at all. But far worse was the credit cost of living -- things most people have to buy on credit became far more expensive under Biden because interest rates rose in response to higher inflation. The cost of buying a home on credit more than tripled, the cost of buying a new car on credit nearly doubled. The cost of borrowing and paying for college tuition more than doubled.
As far as we can tell (the best statistics lag), the amount of illegal immigration was the worst in US history under Biden, though last year he implemented some unlawful executive orders to curb border crossings ahead of the election after bipartisan immigration legislation failed to pass Congress.
The unemployment rate fell from 6.2% to 4.2% during Biden's term, which ties with Bill Clinton for the lowest unemployment at the end of a presidential term since the 1960s.
Inflation-adjusted GDP per capita increased 9.4% under Biden. So if you can get past the increased costs due to inflation and interest rates, more people had jobs and we produced more stuff per person.
The US finally withdrew troops from Afghanistan and destroyed the last of our chemical weapons stockpiles, but the US sent weapons and other lethal aid to both Israel and Ukraine. The US itself has bombed targets in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Although inflation-adjusted US "defense" spending declined after withdrawing from Afghanistan it increased again after Russia invaded Ukraine and Israel invaded Gaza, so overall remained flat under Biden (after inflation).
Net federal spending soared during 2020 due to COVID, but even though COVID has become a historical footnote as of 2024, federal spending under Biden has not declined, resulting in the largest federal deficits as a proportion to GDP in US history (outside of wars or recessions). Biden and Democrats in Congress simply shifted from spending those trillions on COVID aid to spending those trillions on other things, including rising interest payments on the national debt, wider eligibility for Medicaid and Food Stamps, canceled student loans, over $100 billion in bailouts for failed banks, aid to Ukraine, nearly $100 billion in bailouts for private employer/union pension plans, increased veterans benefits, increased Obamacare subsidies, increased infrastructure spending, increased child tax credits, increased tax credits for renewable energy (especially wind/solar farms & electric cars), subsidies for computer chip manufacturers, and more.
The experience of violent crime by victims increased 37% per capita under Biden (comparing 2023 to 2020) to a ten-year high.
And the S&P 500 is up 55%. That's all we should care about, right? Was a wonderful four years for the ownership class, which is why the Biden/Harris campaign outraised and outspent the Trump campaign in 2024 and why Harris won voters making over $100K while Trump won voters making under $100K -- a reversal from decades of Democrats doing better among the working class and Republicans doing better among the professional & ownership classes.
In the end, 47% of voters told exit pollsters they were doing worse than four years ago, 29% said they were about the same, and 24% said they were doing better. So, a slight plurality of voters decided to give Trump another chance ...
So what were Biden's accomplishments and failures?
Most obviously, he failed at re-election and then failed the hand-off to a successor from his own party, and he wasn't popular for most of his term -- difficult for Democrats to comprehend was that Biden was as unpopular as his predecessor and then polled worse than his predecessor and then debated worse than his predecessor.
-----
We've mostly forgotten about it now, but more people died from COVID under Biden than under Trump, despite Biden's campaign vow to "follow the science".
The cash cost of living increased over 20% under Biden, while the federal minimum wage didn't increase at all. But far worse was the credit cost of living -- things most people have to buy on credit became far more expensive under Biden because interest rates rose in response to higher inflation. The cost of buying a home on credit more than tripled, the cost of buying a new car on credit nearly doubled. The cost of borrowing and paying for college tuition more than doubled.
As far as we can tell (the best statistics lag), the amount of illegal immigration was the worst in US history under Biden, though last year he implemented some unlawful executive orders to curb border crossings ahead of the election after bipartisan immigration legislation failed to pass Congress.
The unemployment rate fell from 6.2% to 4.2% during Biden's term, which ties with Bill Clinton for the lowest unemployment at the end of a presidential term since the 1960s.
Inflation-adjusted GDP per capita increased 9.4% under Biden. So if you can get past the increased costs due to inflation and interest rates, more people had jobs and we produced more stuff per person.
The US finally withdrew troops from Afghanistan and destroyed the last of our chemical weapons stockpiles, but the US sent weapons and other lethal aid to both Israel and Ukraine. The US itself has bombed targets in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Although inflation-adjusted US "defense" spending declined after withdrawing from Afghanistan it increased again after Russia invaded Ukraine and Israel invaded Gaza, so overall remained flat under Biden (after inflation).
Net federal spending soared during 2020 due to COVID, but even though COVID has become a historical footnote as of 2024, federal spending under Biden has not declined, resulting in the largest federal deficits as a proportion to GDP in US history (outside of wars or recessions). Biden and Democrats in Congress simply shifted from spending those trillions on COVID aid to spending those trillions on other things, including rising interest payments on the national debt, wider eligibility for Medicaid and Food Stamps, canceled student loans, over $100 billion in bailouts for failed banks, aid to Ukraine, nearly $100 billion in bailouts for private employer/union pension plans, increased veterans benefits, increased Obamacare subsidies, increased infrastructure spending, increased child tax credits, increased tax credits for renewable energy (especially wind/solar farms & electric cars), subsidies for computer chip manufacturers, and more.
The experience of violent crime by victims increased 37% per capita under Biden (comparing 2023 to 2020) to a ten-year high.
And the S&P 500 is up 55%. That's all we should care about, right? Was a wonderful four years for the ownership class, which is why the Biden/Harris campaign outraised and outspent the Trump campaign in 2024 and why Harris won voters making over $100K while Trump won voters making under $100K -- a reversal from decades of Democrats doing better among the working class and Republicans doing better among the professional & ownership classes.
In the end, 47% of voters told exit pollsters they were doing worse than four years ago, 29% said they were about the same, and 24% said they were doing better. So, a slight plurality of voters decided to give Trump another chance ...