Jared Bernstein, the architect of “Bidenomics,” has expressed “guilt and confusion” over Donald Trump’s 2024 victory against Kamala Harris, a defeat that many perceive as a referendum on the administration’s economic policies. Bernstein insists the Biden team’s mission was to uplift the American working class—a noble aim that failed to translate into voter support. Despite these intentions, exit polls reveal little evidence that dissatisfaction with the economy drove the election outcome. Instead, the differential turnout, a drop in Harris’s votes compared to Biden’s 2020 numbers, and systemic challenges like voter suppression and demographic shifts played more significant roles.
Yet, it’s undeniable that public perception of Bidenomics was grim. “If voters are unhappy with the good readings on standard indicators—unemployment, the monthly inflation rate, economic growth—it must be because those indicators no longer connect to their sense of well-being,” the article notes. Real incomes declined, prices surged, and wages struggled to catch up. Meanwhile, critics argue the administration’s policies disproportionately benefited those with market power, exacerbating inequality rather than alleviating it. While Covid-era relief measures briefly improved conditions for low-income households, their abrupt termination reinstated hardships, particularly in child poverty and food insecurity.
Ultimately, Bidenomics faltered not only in execution but in failing to address voters’ tangible struggles. The administration’s support of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes, for instance, froze the housing market, burdened small businesses, and prioritized financial orthodoxy over progressive economic reform. Combined with a fragmented Democratic Party dependent on elite funding, Bidenomics became a missed opportunity to champion transformative change for working-class Americans. As the article concludes, “That most Americans do not think of the Biden years as an era of happy prosperity should be no surprise.”
Source: The Nation
