House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the October jobs report:

“A quick check under the hood of the economy will show that the problem is ‘Bidenomics.’ The Federal Reserve is so concerned about the economy they are keeping interest rates elevated for even longer. New jobs are important, but they don’t change the reality that high prices fueled by Washington Democrat spending is forcing working families to live off savings accounts and credit cards. Families are at risk of permanently falling behind with credit card delinquencies, car loan defaults, and home foreclosures all up. Americans are worse off today than when Joe Biden became President.”

Key Background:

• Prices have increased 17.7 percent since President Biden took office.
• Real wages and benefits have fallen 3.7 percent since President Biden took office.
• Since President Biden’s first month in office, Americans have faced 33 straight months of rising prices.
• Inflation outpaced wages for 26 straight months of Biden’s presidency.
• Mortgage rates are now the highest since November 2000. The average monthly mortgage payment has increased by $1,268 and is 112 percent higher than when President Biden took office in January 2021.
• Credit card interest rates are at the highest level in nearly three decades.
• Net interest payments on the federal debt in Fiscal Year 2023 totaled $659 billion.

“Bidenomics” In Action

• Working Americans Living Paycheck to Paycheck: The poorest 20 percent of Americans spend 80 percent of incomes on basic needs like food and housing.
• More Americans Earning Less: Median household income fell in 2022 for the third year in a row. 17 states saw median income fall, while only five states saw median income grow.
• Middle-Class Families Have Run Out of Savings: Except for the wealthiest 20 percent, all other income groups have less cash now than before the pandemic.
• Families Falling Behind on Bills: Credit card delinquencies rose in the second quarter to the highest levels in 11 years and car loans delinquency is at the highest levels on record because of rising interest rates.
• Higher Income Needed to Buy A Home: An American needs a salary of $114,627 to afford the median-priced home, up 15 percent from last year.
• Rising Foreclosures: Almost 125,000 properties were foreclosed on in the third quarter of this year, a 34 percent increase from last year and a stunning 28 percent increase from the second quarter.

Senior Poverty Rising: In 2022, 14 percent of seniors were living in poverty, a three percentage point increase.