The felicitously named Sean Trende writes for RealClearPolitics and today his topic is how inflation is hurting Joe Biden's chances of reelection. Trende makes a point I've not seen stated so clearly elsewhere.
Inflation affects everyone. Consider unemployment. Even at the height of the Great Recession, unemployment barely crossed the 10% threshold. That meant that 90% of the populace was employed. Yes, there are nasty effects such as depressed wages and anxieties about layoffs that come with recessions, but the main impact is on a small portion of the population.
By contrast, inflation hits nearly 100% of the adult and near adult population - everybody who buys things.
Inflation hits you no matter what you’re purchasing.
The salient issue is that no matter what your price point, you feel the pinch. It’s true that wages have nearly kept up with inflation (on average), but that’s cold comfort for an individual who finally gets a decent raise, only to see it go to cover inflated prices.
President Biden only has nine months until Election Day. These lingering effects are probably what drive the disjunction between his job approval and the economy, and it’s not really within his control to adjust how quickly those expectations reset.
This is true since wage increases tend to lag rising prices by a fair amount, and the resetting of expectations lags wage increases.
