With GDP growth above expectations, low unemployment, and lowering inflation, the economy is still doing well under President Joe Biden. The majority of the population continues to be negative and thinks that the economy is in bad health. Democrats need to fix this disconnect before the election in the next year. The goal of Biden’s “Bidenomics” tour is to showcase the most significant achievements of his administration around the country.
Economic Growth Under Biden’s Administration
Given that the general public disagrees with that message, Biden could need to adopt a different approach. Consider their pain and blame it on a noticeable rise in corporate prices. It has the benefit of being a highly-liked accusation as well as a truthful one, based in the news reported by Dailykos.
Consider General Mills, “whose executives admitted to ‘getting smart about how we look at pricing’ while implementing ‘list price increases,'” which saw net profits rise to $2.7 billion in the 2022 fiscal year, up 16.5% from the year before, and continue to rise in the following year, 2023.
Tyson management recently bragged about the strong pricing power of their portfolio with an increase of 7.6% year over year, translating to a net income increase from $3 billion in FY 2021 to over $3.2 billion in FY 2022, while shareholders reaped $1.35 billion in payouts—$652 million more than the previous year, including a 948.5% increase in stock buybacks.
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Everything is supported by consumers
Many corporations have admitted that the price increase of corporations benefitted them so well. They could get net increasing net profits year after year. These Fortune 500 corporations are congratulating themselves and promising to continue their outrageous profit methods. Some of the largest corporations in the world have reportedly stated that they have no plans to veer from their current trajectory and will keep corporate price increases at high levels for the foreseeable future.” It has also contributed to higher inflation, which provides them even another justification for price increases of corporations. “That strategy has cushioned corporate profits.”
Biden would find it simple to persuade the people that corporations are to blame for price gouging. Voters in large numbers across all political parties blamed oil companies for the high gas prices in 2022, and anti-corporate sentiment has risen.
And it’s not just the typical voter who attributes high costs to corporate greed. When professional and retail investors were surveyed by Bloomberg in June, they came to nearly the same conclusion.
All of this presents a wonderful opportunity for Biden. He can highlight the strengthening economy, the jobs he’s created, and the infrastructure improvements he’s made, all while admitting that people aren’t feeling better about it because their wallets are still being squeezed by greedy businesses that are raising prices, fueling inflation to justify raising prices even higher and harming consumers.
Nothing strengthens your support like having a common adversary.