Life is more expensive in the Biden economy. Today, a typical South Dakota household is paying $1,064 more per month just to maintain the same standard of living it had when the president took office. And after three-plus years of higher prices and tighter budgets, there’s still no end in sight.
Since President Biden took office, prices have risen by nearly 20 percent. Grocery prices are up 21 percent. Car repairs are up 30 percent. Rent is up more than 20 percent. And as Americans turn on their air conditioners this summer, they can contemplate a grim report from the Wall Street Journal that found electricity prices have increased 13 times faster in the last three years than during the previous seven years.
To make matters worse, prices have risen faster than wages during the Biden administration, which has only exacerbated the economic pain many Americans have faced due to inflation. That is why it is so shocking to hear the president say things like he did recently when he suggested that people “have the money” to pay higher prices. But that’s the kind of disconnect we’ve come to expect from a president who has persistently downplayed and denied the economic reality Americans are facing because of his reckless spending.
Inflation has also made it more difficult for many Americans to get ahead. People are putting more on their credit cards, and paying off that debt has gotten harder as interest rates have gone up to combat inflation. The dream of homeownership is out of reach for many Americans. Prospective homebuyers need to earn nearly twice as much as they did four years ago to afford a typical home today. And higher input costs have created serious challenges for Americans who own their own business or operate their family farm or ranch.
As bad as the economy has been over the past three years, it could get worse. After his reckless spending sparked an inflation crisis, President Biden continues to propose tax hikes. His latest budget proposal contains a staggering $5 trillion in job-killing tax hikes. And just recently the president said he would allow the 2017 tax cuts to expire if he is reelected. And if those cuts are allowed to expire, a typical family is looking at a $1,600 tax hike in 2026. That money matters to working families, and maintaining lower tax rates is a priority for my Republican colleagues and me. After three-plus years of “Bidenomics,” our country needs pro-growth economic policy more than ever.
The president’s misguided economic policies have brought economic pain for too many Americans for too long. And, unfortunately, the president never seems to learn or consider a course correction. I hope the American people don’t have to endure a second term of “Bidenomics;” we can’t afford it.