The U.S. economy presents a frustratingly mixed picture. Viewed from some angles — low unemployment, rising wages and bullish financial markets — it conveys strength. From others – high prices, interest rates and debt — it looks heavily burdened and susceptible to recession.
While economists debate whether the glass is half empty or full, the public’s verdict is clear. Americans are strikingly pessimistic about the nation’s economy, with only 30 percent describing it as good.
The White House thinks it’s found just the thing to lift the country’s glum spirits — a new economic doctrine. In recent weeks, President Biden and his advisors have been touting “Bidenomics” as a bold new departure from the “trickle-down” theories that supposedly held sway over the past 40 years.
This grandiose claim hardly seems fair to the Democrats who occupied the White House for 16 of those years. Did the Obama-Biden administration really embrace the tax-cutting, trickle-down policies of Ronald Reagan and subsequent Republican presidents?
