EDITORIAL: Behold the Biden Accomplishment

The Commerce Department revealed last week that the U.S. economy contracted for the second straight quarter, but we dare not say the word. At least that’s how some left-leaning media organizations treated the news.

Traditionally, six months in a row of negative growth has been defined as a recession. But now, we’re assured by The Associated Press, that such a traditional standard represents just an “informal” indicator. CNN informed its readers that the country had crossed a “symbolic” recession threshold.

Does anyone doubt how these shameless Biden spin doctors would have reacted had the same development took place while Donald Trump inhabited 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.?

But it doesn’t really matter what we call the nation’s current economic predicament. The American people know that prices for virtually everything are soaring, some shelves remain bare and inflation continues to wipe out wage gains. Not a recession? OK. Let’s call it Biden’s Accomplishment, because that seems to be the president’s attitude.

“But even as we face historic global challenges,” Mr. Biden said, “we are on the right path and we will come through this transition stronger and more secure. Our job market remains historically strong, with unemployment at 3.6 percent and more than 1 million jobs created in the second quarter alone. Consumer spending is continuing to grow.”

To whom is the president speaking? Recent polls reveal that 88 percent of the country believe the nation is on the wrong course, yet Mr. Biden gazes from sea to shining sea and proclaims “we’re on the right path,” just sit tight and grin and bear it. Never mind that this administration’s economic team has consistently misread the tea leaves for the past 16 months and been flat out wrong more than once. (Remember this presidential greatest hit: “There’s nobody suggesting there’s unchecked inflation on the way — no serious economist.”)

It’s true that job growth remains robust considering all other factors. But expect a slowdown as the Fed ramps up interest rates. Gasoline prices have also dropped significantly in recent weeks — something the administration eagerly touts — but remain about $2 a gallon higher than when Mr. Biden took office. As for consumer spending, the president again stretches the reality on the ground.

“The big picture is that spending growth has slowed pretty sharply” when inflation is taken into account, Andrew Hunter, an economist at Capital Economics, told the Wall Street Journal. “The surge in prices and resulting hit to consumers’ real incomes is starting to take its toll on spending.”

In addition, even as consumers continue to spend in some cases, they get “less in return as prices rise,” the Journal reports. They also get less as manufacturers engage in shrinkflation. As for consumer confidence, the University of Michigan’s July survey on the subject found the one-year outlook at its lowest level since 2009.

The news is also getting worse on the investment side. Gross private investment dropped 13.5 percent in the second quarter and residential investment fell 14 percent, neither of which bodes well for a quick turnaround.

Mr. Biden’s response to all this is to stay on the current flight path as his presidency hurtles toward the mountain — more spending, more bureaucracy, more kowtowing to progressive doomsayers on energy policy, all of which brought us to this point in the first place.

The Biden team can be forgiven for running from the “R” word — the politics are obvious, after all. But semantic chicanery on the economy is unlikely to fool the American consumer — or voter — into lining up in support of the Biden Accomplishment.