About Your Economic Record, Mr. President: It’s not all roses

Letters to The WSJ.

"Regarding President Biden’s “Never Bet Against the American Economy” (op-ed, June 9): Wouldn’t it be nice if politicians stopped referring to increasing government spending funded by borrowing as “public investments” and increased taxes as “revenues?” Such public investments aren’t a once-in-a-generation opportunity; as the federal debt has grown to exceed $31 trillion, they have become routine.

Long-term growth is a mirage, as government borrowing crowds out private investment. How are we going to win the economic competition for the 21st century in the presence of growing leakages—tax dollars siphoned by bureaucracies—inefficiencies and debt overhang?

Terence E. Burns, C.F.A.

Fairfax Station, Va.

Mr. Biden plays his greatest-hits record of misleading economic claims on inflation, wage growth and job creation. In reality, our inflation, which was a result of Mr. Biden’s reckless spending, remains persistently high. It has caused average real wages to decline for 26 straight months. His job-growth figure has been buoyed by the millions of backfilled jobs that were temporarily lost during the pandemic. He doesn’t deserve credit for these. Labor-force participation is well below the prepandemic peak.

The economy is sputtering, mired in stagflation after barely coming out of a recession during the first half of last year. According to our latest poll, nearly two-thirds of small businesses are concerned that the poor economic conditions will force them to close. The real story of the Biden economy is stagflation and declining living standards.

Alfredo Ortiz

CEO, Job Creators Network

Atlanta

Mr. Biden blames price hikes on supply chains, corporate profit margins and rents. When supply chains weaken, prices rise, but then fall once bottlenecks resolve. If the supply-side story is correct, we should see outright deflation now. Instead, we’re experiencing mere disinflation—a slowdown in the rate of price increases.

The corporate-profits “greedflation” hypothesis flies in the face of basic economics. When business costs rise, the markup charged by profit-maximizing firms actually decreases. Rents don’t explain inflation, either. From summer 2020 to 2022, rent increases outpaced consumer price inflation for only three quarters. Rents are growing faster now that inflation has moderated. The driver is supply and demand in housing markets, not the overall economy.

Monetary policy remains the best explanation for inflation. The monetary base grew from $3.45 trillion at the start of Covid to $6.41 trillion two years later. Mr. Biden doesn’t control the Federal Reserve, but in running massive deficits, he and his congressional allies pressured the central bank to monetize the debt.

Prof. Alexander William Salter

Rawls College of Business, Texas Tech

Lubbock, Texas"