President Biden’s economic record has been under the microscope with the 2024 election fast approaching, and multiple recent polls showing that the economy is one of the most important issues for Americans.
The Biden administration’s economic policies have mainly focused on large-scale public spending projects meant to boost economic growth, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the CHIPS and Science Act, as well as efforts to support unions and step up antitrust enforcement. The goal has been to rebuild the economy “from the middle out, and the bottom up,” according to the administration, and “not the top down.”
The only issue is that “Bidenomics,” as the president calls it, isn’t exactly popular. Stubborn inflation, rising interest rates, and sky-high housing costs have left many consumers feeling dissatisfied during Biden’s presidency. Just 36% of Americans said they approve of the way the Biden administration is handling the economy in a February Gallup poll. And when JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon was asked whether Bidenomics is working for Americans in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, his answer was less than enthusiastic.
“Partially,” he said. “When you spend that kind of money you’re going to have growth. And we needed some of it—like some of the industrial policy. I think the infrastructure thing is terrific; that was bipartisan.”
Dimon argued the president’s spending on infrastructure projects and semiconductor manufacturing was well worth it, but said he also believes many Americans still feel left behind. “I think some of the American public looks at it like, what are they getting?” he said. “If you go to rural America or inner cities, I’m not sure they feel like they’re being lifted up by this economy.”
The burden of inflation is one of the main reasons why many Americans aren’t thrilled with Bidenomics. Although year-over-year consumer price increases have fallen from their peak of 9.1% in June 2022 to just 3.5% in March, price hikes for things like housing and food, which are felt more directly by lower- and middle-income consumers, have been so dramatic in recent years that many Americans are still struggling. That’s evidenced by the fact that average weekly real wages, or wages adjusted for inflation, are still below January 2020 levels—and the reality that inflation remains the biggest issue facing the nation right now in most Americans’ minds, according to a March Gallup poll.
Dimon isn’t the only one who seems to believe Bidenomics is only partially working, either, given Biden’s approval rating is sitting only four percentage points above its record low at just 35%, according to a Pew Research poll published Wednesday.
Still, when asked who was the best presidential candidate for the economy, Trump or Biden, Dimon declined to answer. “I’m not going to comment,” he said with a wry smile. All the veteran CEO would say was he would try to help whoever becomes president, and he hopes they get a good team of advisors with real-world experience around them.