Opinion | Mad at Biden over the economy? Take our quiz. – The Washington Post

The past few years have been tumultuous, with a deadly pandemic, a recession, an inflation spike and overseas wars. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Americans give President Biden low marks on the economy. How bad are things? This quiz will help you calibrate your level of concern, and it will show you how your knowledge of economic reality stacks up against other Americans we asked and other Post readers. (We partnered with Gapminder, a Swedish nonprofit, to poll 600 people ages 18 to 65 about the economy. The sample was balanced to reflect U.S. demography.)

Brisk consumer spending has made the U.S. economic recovery from the pandemic stronger than Europe’s. Large federal government aid in 2020 and 2021 boosted U.S. household spending and saving. On top of that, many Americans locked in rock-bottom mortgage rates when they were low, so they have not felt the sting of high interest rates as much as consumers in other countries. Strong wage growth and stock market gains have also fueled U.S. spending.

Even so, top-line numbers can mask economic challenges Americans face. Hasn’t inflation stung many households?

The average price for gas was about $2.40 when President Biden took office. The price reached an all-time high of $5 a gallon in June 2022 mainly because of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But gas prices have fallen a lot since then and are now just over $3 a gallon.

Yet Americans buy far more than just gas. What’s the big picture?

<p text="Inflation hit a 40-year high in the summer of 2022. Prices for almost everything were rising: food, cars, travel, appliances. Costs for many were rising faster than their pay. But that changed in 2023 as many workers saw large wage increases. The average worker’s pay has risen 20.5 percent since January 2020, outpacing the 19 percent rise in inflation over the same time frame. Many low-wage workers are doing even better.” class=”wpds-c-hcZlgz wpds-c-hcZlgz-bkfjoi-font-georgia wpds-c-hcZlgz-jDmrXh-width-mdCenter wpds-c-hcZlgz-ibdLmgo-css”>Inflation hit a 40-year high in the summer of 2022. Prices for almost everything were rising: food, cars, travel, appliances. Costs for many were rising faster than their pay. But that changed in 2023 as many workers saw large wage increases. The average worker’s pay has risen 20.5 percent since January 2020, outpacing the 19 percent rise in inflation over the same time frame. Many low-wage workers are doing even better.

These facts prompt a look at the state of American jobs.

This question is a bit unfair; presidents have only so much control over the economy, and the timing of presidential terms determines how the numbers look. (President Donald Trump saw more than 6 million jobs added in his first three years in office, but those gains disappeared in the pandemic. He ended his first term with millions of job losses.) Moreover, Mr. Biden’s first term isn’t done. But anyone who claims that this key indicator of economic health is off-track has not been paying attention to the country’s jobs bonanza, with record-low levels of unemployment and more than 14 million jobs added through December 2023.

<p text="The U.S. economy — and American workers — have been remarkably resilient. The Federal Reserve’s campaign against inflation has cooled price increases. Hiring remains robust. And growth recently accelerated. Americans are finally becoming more upbeat about the U.S. economy as gas and grocery prices stabilize and growth continues with no recession in sight. There are still people struggling, as food insecurity data and fast-growing credit card debt demonstrate. But jobs remain plentiful and unemployment has sat below 4 percent for the longest stretch in U.S. history since the Vietnam War era. Wages are now strongly outpacing inflation, especially for lower-wage workers, which is boosting spending and people’s confidence in the economy’s future.” class=”wpds-c-hcZlgz wpds-c-hcZlgz-bkfjoi-font-georgia wpds-c-hcZlgz-jDmrXh-width-mdCenter wpds-c-hcZlgz-ibdLmgo-css”>The U.S. economy — and American workers — have been remarkably resilient. The Federal Reserve’s campaign against inflation has cooled price increases. Hiring remains robust. And growth recently accelerated. Americans are finally becoming more upbeat about the U.S. economy as gas and grocery prices stabilize and growth continues with no recession in sight. There are still people struggling, as food insecurity data and fast-growing credit card debt demonstrate. But jobs remain plentiful and unemployment has sat below 4 percent for the longest stretch in U.S. history since the Vietnam War era. Wages are now strongly outpacing inflation, especially for lower-wage workers, which is boosting spending and people’s confidence in the economy’s future.

Presidents generally get too much credit — or blame — for economic circumstances over which they have much less power than Americans imagine. Yet it is simply wrong to remember Mr. Trump’s term as an economic renaissance that contrasts with misery today. Mr. Biden deserves more credit, if only for staying out of the Fed’s way, something that Mr. Trump might not have done. All Americans should celebrate the “soft landing” the United States is enjoying.

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