Column: No matter how this administration tries to spin it, 'Bidenomics' is not working

The Biden Administration has continually pushed policies that make it tougher for American families to make ends meet, and that is clearly reflected in the most recent inflation and economic reports. According to a July report by the Joint Economic Committee, cumulative overall prices have risen by 16.68%, costing the average household over $900 extra per month. The worst part about it? This Administration is still trying to sell us the lie that "Bidenomics" is working. Missourians know that it isn't.

Trying to spin this Administration's reckless economic policies as a positive isn't just ignoring the issues actually facing American families, but it's a slap in the face to working folks who are the ones bearing the brunt of it. Rapidly rising inflation has created hollowed out savings, skyrocketing interest rates, and has vastly undercut the average American's ability to provide for their family. Every trip to the grocery store each week is a reminder of Joe Biden and the Democrats' failed policies. Since Biden took office, grocery prices have risen by over 20%, electricity prices have risen by over 24%, and gasoline prices have catapulted by over 54%. If you buy a home now, interest rates that have been increased to deal with inflation are so high that the same mortgage from three years ago will cost you double. To make matters worse, back-to-school shopping isn't excluded from this Administration's disastrous economic policies either, with this year expected to be the most expensive ever at an average of $890 per household.

The inconvenient truth is that this was all expected when Democrats signed their blankcheck spending spree bill last year. But they didn't want to listen when economists said it would mean higher prices and bad news for the economy, so American families are now the ones who have to deal with through-the-roof inflation and the economic burden that spending spree has spurred. It's never been more evident than it is right now: a presidential administration trying to spend its way out of a recession only equals more economic hardships for families.

No matter how you slice it, this is not a sustainable economy for families just trying to get by, and if Joe Biden continues to focus on virtue signaling and nonsense woke politics over protecting Americans' hard-earned money, it will only get worse. Instead of concentrating on far-left political issues, the Biden Administration ought to be focusing on things like making the United States energy independent again, not only to prevent us from being dependent on our adversaries for resources, but to lower the economic hardship incurred by having to import oil and natural gas. Energy prices have risen by over 38%, but what is the Biden Administration focused on? Banning gas stoves. You can't make this stuff up.

While American families are being forced to foot the bill for continually increasing household costs and draining their savings to do so, Joe Biden is sitting on a beach in Delaware without a care in the world. Working class Americans need relief from persistent and painful high prices incurred by this reckless spending, and the Biden Administration continues to ignore them. Instead of lies about so-called "Bidenomics," we deserve answers and action to ease this ever-growing economic burden on American families, and I refuse to let up until something changes. Working families in this country deserve to be able to live their lives without reckless government spending and a war on American energy. I am committed to fighting for the forgotten Americans whose futures are being held hostage by the Biden Administration's war on working families.

Eric Schmitt (R-MO) is a United States senator.