In an election that will come down to a handful of swing states, President Joe Biden is banking on his economic plan, Bidenomics, to sway voters to his camp. Unfortunately for Biden, a new poll suggests that voters in those swing states are not impressed with Bidenomics.
“The poll, which surveyed 5,023 registered voters earlier this month, found that voters who said the economy was their most important issue disapproved of Biden’s economic policies, 65% to 14%,” Axios reported.
More concerning still: “51% of swing-state voters said the national economy was better off under former President Trump” and “overall, just 26% of voters in the poll said Bidenomics has been good for the economy, while 49% disapproved of the policies.”
Biden’s camp is downplaying the poll results. “Predictions more than a year out tend to look a little different a year later,” said Kevin Munoz, Biden’s campaign spokesperson. “We’ll win in 2024 by putting our heads down and doing the work, not by fretting about a poll.”
What is Bidenomics
Bidenomics is a three-pillared economic plan that proposes to build back America from the top up and middle out, rather than from the top down. The first pillar is public investment in America, i.e., rebuilding infrastructure and investing in industries “critical to our national security and economic security,” as a method to promote growth and attract private investment.
The second pillar is to provide working class opportunities through job creation and expanded educational opportunities, i.e., apprenticeships and technical schools, which should technically help lower unemployment and boost wages amongst the middle class.
The third pillar is to promote competition as a way of lowering consumers costs and helping small businesses thrive. Basically, the third pillar is anti-monopoly.
Great. On paper, Bidenomics looks strong and reasonable. But in practice, Biden’s economic plan has had mixed results – depending upon who you ask.
Robert Reich had high praise for Bidenomics, which he said were “turning out to be the most successful set of economic policies the United States has witness in a half-century.”
“New economic data last week showed that inflation cooled to 3% in June, down from over 9% last year, and close to the Fed’s goal of 2%. And as inflation has subsided, real wages – that is, what paychecks will buy – have finally risen,” Reich wrote for The Guardian.
Still, Reich’s opinion on Bidenomics doesn’t count for all that much. The opinions that will matter will be those of the voters – especially the swing-state voters, who will decide the 2024 election – many of whom are unimpressed. Why might that be?
“Date released late last month show food insecurity at its highest level since Biden took office, and average financial hardship in 2023 is worse than it was over the last three years,” The Lever reported, suggesting that Bidenomics “has been accompanied by a humanitarian crisis.”
Courting the Swing States
A handful of states are expected to determine the 2024 election. Georgia. Arizona. Michigan. Pennsylvania. And most voters, in the swing-states and elsewhere, vote in accordance with the pocketbook. If Biden wants to win reelection, he’ll need to convince Americans that his economic plan is working.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor and opinion writer at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
