In the midst of President Biden’s campaign to sell "Bidenomics" to American voters, Vice President Kamala Harris made a curious admission. Speaking about the costs of getting an abortion (so not Bidenomics), she stated that "[m]ost Americans are a $400 unexpected expense away from bankruptcy."
Of course, as with most dramatic White House economic claims, it wasn’t exactly true. But you have to give her credit for raising a counter-narrative the Biden administration is otherwise choosing to ignore.
The fact is that American families are in trouble, deep trouble, and it’s far more significant than any Bidenomics spin can conceal.
Harris’s point comes from a recent Morning Consult survey which found that in the third quarter of this year only 46% of Americans could cover a $400 unexpected expense without going into debt. That’s not the same as being $400 away from bankruptcy, but it’s still really bad. It shows how expenses as commonplace as a surprise car repair or a medical bill are forcing many American families into debt – at a time when interest rates are disturbingly high.
