Battle for the Economy: Biden’s Pitch in Pennsylvania
The White House hopes that President Joe Biden’s emphasis on worker-friendly policies will help Biden win another election in 2024 when he heads to Philadelphia on Monday to observe U.S. Labor Day in a key swing state. Biden, a Democrat, will speak at an AFL-CIO union group event in neighboring Pennsylvania after visiting Florida on Saturday to assess Hurricane Idalia damage before traveling to his home state of Delaware.
Pennsylvania was a key state in Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
Despite easing inflation and low unemployment rates, Biden describes himself as a pro-union president, and the White House has recently tried to promote his economic ideas to a public concerned about the economy under the name “Bidenomics”.
Republicans argue that Democratic policies contributed to the higher prices that have resulted in Americans paying more for rent, groceries, and petrol while Biden was in office.
The 30-year mortgage rate is now above 7% as a result of the Fed raising rates by 5.25 percentage points since March 2022. Nonetheless, the favored inflation measure of the Fed has dropped from its peak of 7% last summer to 3.3%.
Read Also: Why U.S. Consumers Could Impact Biden’s Re-Election Prospects
A Close Look at Labor and Inflation
Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, stated late last month that while the drop was a “welcome development,” inflation “remains too high” and the Fed may need to hike interest rates further.
According to Labor Department figures released last week, the number of jobs in the United States increased in August but the unemployment rate increased to 3.8% and wage growth slowed. In response to rate increases by the central bank, the labor market is stalling.
The White House argues that since Biden took office in January 2021, inflation-adjusted income has increased by 3.5%, with lower-wage employees benefiting, and the jobless rate is almost at a 50-year low.
In an editorial that appeared in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel before Labor Day, Vice President Biden commended unions and emphasized his administration’s plan to give an additional 3.6 million Americans overtime pay. The presidential election of 2024 is projected to be significantly influenced by economic issues.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last month, Americans’ top concerns continue to be the economy, unemployment, and employment. According to the study, 60% of Americans, including one in three Democrats, disapproved of how Biden handled inflation.
Who will be in charge of the country after next year will be decided in part by Pennsylvania and a small number of other electoral battleground states that alternately support Democrats and Republicans in presidential elections.
Read Also: US President Biden Voices Disappointment as Chinese President Xi Skips G20 Summit
Source: Reuters
