North Michigan News

A majority of Michigan voters disapprove of President Joe Biden's handling of the economy and the continued COVID-19 pandemic, though economists believe there isn't much that the Biden administration can do to drive the country out of its economic fog.

One person sounding the inflationary alarm is American economist and professor Lawrence Summers, who began to forecast inflation early last year and has made similar comments in social media posts.

"I’m not sure that we would have the inflation if there had never been a pandemic and, even if there had been a pandemic, without the overwhelming stimulus that was applied well into recovery — during 2021," Summers tweeted Feb. 4. 

A year ago, Summers penned an op-ed piece in The Washington Post noting that Biden’s pandemic relief stimulus plan, while ambitious, carried with it some potential risks. In the February 2021 op-ed, Summers now sounds almost prophetic in his assessment. 

“First, while there are enormous uncertainties, there is a chance that macroeconomic stimulus on a scale closer to World War II levels than normal recession levels will set off inflationary pressures of a kind we have not seen in a generation, with consequences for the value of the dollar and financial stability,” Summers wrote in The Washington Post. “This will be manageable if monetary and fiscal policy can be rapidly adjusted to address the problem.” 

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) was critical of the Biden administration’s effort in a recent New York Times report, noting that it ultimately could cost Democrats working-class voters in the fall because of rapidly rising prices. 

“Every time we talked about inflation, I could see the heads nodding,” she told The New York Times.

According to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index stood at 7.5% for the 12 months ending in January, the largest increase in four decades. This is contributing to declining support for Biden in Michigan, where a February Civiqs poll found that 59% of Michigan voters disapprove of the job he is doing, up from 46% in a similar survey one year ago.

A CNN national poll found that nearly six out of 10 Americans are not pleased with the performance of the Biden administration, while 41% approved of Biden's job performance. 

The New York Times also noted that William Galston, who served as a domestic policy adviser to Bill Clinton and vividly remembers the economic malaise of the late 1970s and early 1980s, acknowledges that inflation is a concern. Galston questions whether Americans have the stomach to endure what is needed to fix the issues. He also said that Biden needs to show he’s actively trying to fix the problem. 

White House spokesperson Emilie Simons contends Biden is taking advantage of every tool at his disposal to reduce prices, but even with the president’s efforts, many economists acknowledge that there is little that he can do to stop inflation.