Biden Claims His Economic Plan Is ‘Blue-Collar Blueprint For America’ As Prices Remain High

 President Joe Biden touted his economic record in a Monday speech and claimed that his economic policies were a blueprint for blue-collar Americans, even as Americans continue to pay more for everyday food products and gas. 

Biden made the comments in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during a Labor Day speech to a sheet metal union, and he painted a rosy picture of the economy, which has seen record inflation under his administration. 

“’Bidenomics’ is a blue-collar blueprint for America. It’s for you,” Biden said. “As I said a thousand times, there is no quit in America. None. All I hear from my friends on the other side, what they say is wrong with America. They keep telling us America is failing. They’re wrong. I’ve got news for them. America has the strongest economy in the world right now, today.”

The comments come as Americans continue to pay high prices for food and gas. One recent report showed that Americans paid $709 more dollars for basic goods and services in July 2023 than they did in July 2021. Additionally, the latest numbers from the Producer Price Index and the Consumer Price Index also indicate that food prices will continue to remain higher than average through the end of 2023 and into 2024.

Prices for key food staples are expected to increase, including beef and veal (4.2%), other meats (4.8%), poultry (3%), dairy products (4.1%), fats and oils (9.6%), processed fruits and vegetables (9.2%), sugar and sweets (9.3%), cereals and bakery products (9%), nonalcoholic beverages (7.6%), and other foods (7.4%). 

 “America isn’t failing. America is winning, and the rest of the world knows it. That’s why our friends and allies are looking to us,” Biden said. 

 

The president also took a shot at former President Donald Trump during the speech, pointing to a Biden-backed infrastructure package that funneled billions into green initiatives.

“You can’t have the strongest economy in the world with a second-rate infrastructure. Can you believe we used to have the best infrastructure in the world? And then we fell to the number 13 in the world,” Biden said. “And guess what? The great real estate builder — last guy here — he didn’t build a damn thing.” 

During the speech, Biden, who owns multiple homes and has held a political office for the majority of the last 50 years, referred to himself as “Middle-class Joe.” 

“Folks, all my time in public life, I’ve been referred to as ‘Middle-class Joe.’  I guess they thought that was a — the — somehow not very complimentary.  Well, guess what?  That’s who I am.  It doesn’t mean you’re not sophisticated because you’re middle class.  It means you work like hell,” he said.