US President Joe Biden speaks about investing in clean energy manufacturing at CS Wind, the largest wind tower manufacturer in the world, in Colorado on Nov 29, 2023. WASHINGTON: Fears of a recession in the United States are fading and its finances are in surprisingly strong health – but Americans are not buying it.
A key US inflation report, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, will be released on Friday , indicating whether the US Federal Reserve is ready to cut interest rates for the first time since the pandemic. Such a robust financial environment would historically help to carry an incumbent US president to a second term in office, but this does not seem to be the case now.Harvard University economics lecturer Judd Cramer said that “vibecession” is the idea that the economy is doing quite well, but the vibes – or what the people are feeling – are “not where we think they should be”.
The Federal Reserve began hiking rates in March 2022 and has raised them 11 times since then. Currently, rates are at their highest levels in two decades at 5.25 to 5.50 per cent. As families continue to feel the pinch, the Biden campaign could struggle to convince Americans that the president’s handling of the economy is worth their vote.