Is the jobs market great in America?
The corrupt media platforms think so — and they push that message, ad nauseum.
In fact, here is a pretty startling and condescending headline from the Wall Street Journal.
The main message here, which is difficult to miss: you’re too stupid to know that you’re doing great! Wise up, serfs!
Well, try selling that hot political garbage to blue collar laborers who see their buying power eroded to the point of financial anxiety and deep indebtedness?
Or, peddle that malarkey to new college graduates who cannot secure work, even with supposedly marketable pedigrees?
In spite of the lived reality of millions, this arrogant messaging effort on the economy actually forms a cornerstone of the Biden reelection campaign, since they certainly do not want to campaign on the Main St. reality of Bidenomics. Or, campaign on the open border Biden and Harris created. And they certainly cannot campaign on the severe cognitive deficiencies Joe puts on public display with alarming regularity.
So…both Team Biden and the amen-corner corporate media run hard with the “this economy is so good that you don’t even know it” routine.
Occasionally, they get data points that provide just enough patina of optimism to generate economic propaganda justifying Bidenomics.
One number flowed from last week’s jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But, the reasonably uplifting top-line jobs number falls apart upon deeper investigation, validating what the masses of working-class citizens already know: they work harder to get poorer, every single day under Joe Biden.
Instead of pontificating and obfuscating like Biden, Harris, and their allies – let’s get specific with the numbers and the reality on the ground in America.
Five facts indict Bidenomics for laborers.
1. WAY TOO MANY PART-TIME JOBS
See the chart below, courtesy of Powerline Blog. The gains have been in part-time work.
Over the four months, the economy has net lost -1.8 million full-time jobs, per Stephanie Pomboy of Macro Mavens. In addition – not shown on this chart – far too many of the full-time jobs that are added come from government payrolls and related quasi-government industries like healthcare.
2. TOO MANY WORKERS FORCED INTO SECOND AND THIRD JOBS
Life has become so expensive for working-class Americans that working one job simply cannot keep many citizens above water financially. Hence the explosion in credit card debt to above $1 trillion, at all-time highs, -- during a supposedly strong economic period?!
For those trying to avoid crushing, high-interest debt, second and third jobs become a brutal necessity. Since Biden took office, the number of people working multiple jobs has rocket higher by 32%. That number of multiple job laborers soared higher by 6% just last month alone.
3. REAL WAGES CRASH UNDER BIDEN
There has been an incredible torrent of media lying on this topic…just outright dishonest propaganda. Yes, real wages have risen by small margins in recent months, but only after a bone-crushing 24 straight month plunge under Biden. Pay failed to keep up with inflation for 2 entire years without a break, the worst such streak on record.
Data from Biden’s own Federal Reserve also make this point clear, American workers have gotten poorer under Biden, meaning that any wage gains have been more than stripped away by Biden’s inflation.
If you feel like you are an economic hamster on a wheel, running hard to get nowhere… you are not alone and you are not mistaken, based on the harsh numbers.
4. EVEN THE CREDENTIALED STRUGGLE NOW
A recent Wall Street Journal article detailed the travails of recent graduates anguished about finding work, even from top schools like Rice University and the University of Illinois. See this chart – the declining percentage of graduates with offers in hand points to a lot more trouble ahead, unfortunately.
Anyone with a recent or pending graduate in their life knows this reality all too well. The job market is very challenging for aspirational young strivers, even though with august credentials.
5. FORWARD INDICATORS SLUMP
The payrolls number from last week is rearview mirror. Now, forward-looking signs point to serious trouble ahead. The most foreboding data point is soaring Crude Oil and overall energy prices. May Crude Oil futures last Friday hit $87/barrel, the highest level since the brutal summer of 2022’s pronounced pain at the pump. Gasoline futures have vaulted higher by almost 50 cents per gallon since the beginning of 2024…a reality soon to hit consumers hard at filling stations, just in time for the summer driving season.
Reflecting the darkening mood, see this chart showing a collapse of Small Business hiring plans for the coming months.
Clearly, Main St. is hurting – and it’s likely to get worse. Much worse.
So, those of us working toward big gains for America First candidates should stay very focused on the economy as voters’ number one issue and Biden’s number one vulnerability.
Recent battleground polling conducted for my laborers’ advocacy group, the League of American Workers, proves this point. When we asked swing state voters in Arizona, were you better off under Trump or Biden, the former president enjoys a commanding +18% margin, 53-35%.
Even more importantly, among coveted undecided 2024 battleground voters, when asked about their approval rating of Biden on the economy, a miniscule 1% strongly approve, while a whopping 45% strongly disapprove.
Time to end the pain of Bidenomics and return to the prosperity of economic populism. Let’s do this…
Steve Cortes is former senior advisor to President Trump, former commentator for Fox News and CNN, and president of the League of American Workers, a populist right pro-laborer advocacy group.
I love it when you write about the economy, Steve. You're always right on point! Its been your advice for the last few years that has kept my own family stable. Thank you!