The first debate of the 2024 crusade between US President Joe Biden and former US President Donald Trump has focused on their respective economic effects in office.
In Thursday’s showdown, the applicants clashed over the economy: Biden took credit for overseeing the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and Trump claimed to have presided over “the greatest economy in our country’s history. “
Both Biden and Trump may simply point to good performances in specific areas of the economy, yet opinion polls have consistently shown that the electorate has more confidence in the Republican’s ability to deal with economic and cost-of-living issues.
In an ABC News/Ipsos ballot released last month, 46% of respondents said they trusted Trump on the economy, compared to 32% for Biden.
When it comes to inflation, Trump favored the Democrat by 44 to 30 percent.
Polls also show that the overwhelming majority of Americans see the economy as their most sensible priority; Biden’s reelection hopes will likely live or die depending on his ability to sell a positive economic message.
Here are the economic effects of Trump and Biden in 4 key areas.
Both the Biden and Trump administrations have experienced periods of growth.
Since Biden’s inauguration, gross domestic product (GDP) has increased by up to 8. 4% after adjusting for inflation.
Under Trump, GDP grew 6. 8%, but that includes the drop in economic activity that occurred in the first year of the pandemic.
Outside of 2020, Biden leads, with an annualized expansion rate of about 2. 9%, compared to just under 2. 7% for Trump.
Biden’s term was marked by much higher inflation than Trump’s, even though many of the points that caused the higher prices, such as COVID-related supply chain disruptions, were out of his reach.
Since Biden took office, they have increased by more than 19 percent.
The average worth of a gallon (3. 8 liters) of gas rose from $2. 33 to $3. 76 between January 2021 and May of this year, according to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The value of a loaf of bread rose from $1. 55 to $1. 97, while the value of a dozen eggs rose from $1. 47 to $2. 70.
At one point under Trump, costs had increased only about five percent.
Although inflation has fallen sharply since peaking at 9. 1% in mid-2022, it remains stubbornly high.
The consumer value index hit 3. 3 per cent last month, well above the U. S. Federal Reserve’s target of around 2 per cent.
Both Biden and Trump can claim to have presided over tough labor markets.
Unemployment fell to a 53-year low of 3. 4 percent in January last year and has remained below four percent since then, for a month.
Excluding 2020, Trump also oversaw an era of low unemployment, with the unemployment rate hitting a low of 3. 5% in late 2019.
Under Biden, around 15. 7 million jobs have been created.
By contrast, Trump left the workplace with about 3 million fewer jobs; That figure was skewed by the pandemic.
Even before the pandemic, however, task creation was growing at a slower pace under Trump’s tenure than Biden’s.
While Biden and Trump have presided over a falsified wage expansion on paper, the United States has noted a decline in its incomes in real terms under Biden due to inflation.
Under Trump, wage expansion has remained above inflation, leading to a slight increase in workers’ incomes.
Starting in March 2021, customer costs began to move away from profits, before the trend reversed in early 2023.
The result is that the real average weekly wage fell 2. 14% between the beginning of Biden’s term and the first quarter of 2024, according to a study by FactCheck. org that collects data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The good news for U. S. workers is that wages have to go back up.
In May, real wages rose 0. 5% from a year earlier, but have not yet returned to the levels they were at at the start of Biden’s term.
“Although true wage expansion has turned positive in recent months, the point for real wages is still lower than at the beginning of the rise in inflation we began to see in the first quarter of 2021,” the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said. he said Thursday in an analysis.
“In short, real wages have completely kept pace with the sudden rise in inflation. “