Independence Day overshadowed by inflation, public anger over incompetence of Biden administration

Planned protests over the Roe v. Wade decision, canceled fireworks in cities due to shortages of staff and supplies and unprecedented high costs for July 4 cookouts… all these cast a cloud over this year's Independence Day in the US due to deepened divisions in American society, economic woes and major failures in the Biden administration. While a latest survey found that more than 70 percent of Americans do not want Biden to run for a second term, Chinese experts believe the cascading crisis that the Biden administration faces has been escalating, casting a shadow over the upcoming mid-term elections and risking dragging US society into a prolonged chaos and recession.

Instead of consulting the professionals in tackling problems like surging inflation, the Biden administration appeared to be disconnected from reality, showing little efficiency in responding to public demands and instead shifting the blame to other countries such as Russia and China, some experts said. They noted that such a chaotic and incompetent policy-making process will only make the situation worse, adding to uncertainties over how Democrats will fare in the midterm elections and making the second half of US President Joe Biden's term even more difficult.

Public outcry

In Texas, some women are using the Independence Day holiday to protest the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Activists in Arizona are damning Independence Day itself in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the ruling and hundreds of protesters in Pennsylvania slammed this decision as part of the Independence Day rally, according to US media reports.

American people are angry not only over the abortion ruling, which has been widely described as a historical regression, but also over endless gun violence in spite of the recent federal gun control legislation.

At least four people are dead and 18 others are wounded following shootings across Chicago this weekend, CBS reported. As the country witnessed a growing number of gun violence incidents this year, the cost of buying insurance protection against mass shootings has also spiked by over 10 percent, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing insurers.

The festive mood for Independence Day was also affected by surging inflation, as ordinary American people now have to spend more on a good, old-fashioned barbecue. With the cost of burgers, chips, soda and side dishes on the rise, they will be spending a lot more to keep up this tradition than they did last year, CNBC said.

"Independence Day is often a special holiday to boost morale and national identity, but now due to the confusion in values in the US, it will also be a day to unveil the deep pain of many people," a Beijing-based expert on US affairs who preferred not to be named told the Global Times on Sunday.

This year's celebration will not be very popular among American people, and is likely to be miserable, he said, noting that such a gloomy atmosphere would also be amplified by the widely shared disappointment toward the US government, he said.

Seven in 10 Americans say they do not want Biden to run for a second term, according to a new poll that comes as Biden's approval numbers remain low and his party braces for losses this November, the Hill reported on Friday.

Among the respondents who believe the president should not run, 45 percent said Biden should not make another bid because he is a bad president, while about a quarter said it is time for a change, according to the media report.

"The public outrage is apparent now, as the Biden administration has not made any progress over the past year and a half in solving the dilemma that led to cascading crises from gun violence and the revocation of abortion rights that has caused even deeper society divisions," Diao Daming, associate professor at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Although the overturning of Roe v. Wade may serve as stimulus to vote for Democrats, currently, the American public is much more concerned about the economy and employment, Diao said, noting that in the face of the worsening situation, Democrats are highly likely to lose both Congress and the Senate in the upcoming election.

Incompetence

In some US cities, the dark skies over Independence Day will not be illuminated by fireworks as there is a nationwide shortage of pyrotechnicians. Meanwhile, travelers across the country are seeing their flights canceled as pilots from major airlines protest at several airports across the country amid contract negotiations, US media reported. More than 4,500 US domestic and international flights were delayed Friday as the holiday weekend started, Newsweek said, citing FlightAware data.

Faced with a major economic woe - inflation - the Biden administration has not yet made up its mind to remove tariffs against China, despite officials and experts suggested that lifting those tariffs could take 1 percent off inflation. Instead, it continued to shift the blame for its domestic dilemma onto other countries such as Russia and China.

Biden assured Americans that inflation remains his top priority, after price increases unexpectedly hit a new 40-year high in May, but again sought to blame his biggest political liability on the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Bloomberg reported on June 11.

All three branches - the executive, legislative, and judicial - of the US government are encountering problems now, for example, the executive branch appeared to be extremely chaotic and inefficient given that Biden's decision-making process has been relying on staff he is familiar with and sidelining the professionals, Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"Without professional policy-making, confusing measures ensue. Biden also lacked the fundamental understanding about why inflation happened," he said, noting that the situation casts doubt on him running for a second term and exposes his incompetence given the record low popularity ratings.

As Biden debates whether to lift Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports, his cabinet is split over a politically fraught issue that could influence the November congressional midterm elections, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Officials and experts familiar with the debate say there are deep divisions in the administration, partly reflecting the fraught politics over China trade issues, according to the FT.

"The policy-making of the Biden administration is disconnected with reality, not only on tariffs but also on the Ukraine crisis. He claimed he would 'back Ukraine as long as it takes'. Such an irresponsible remark should not come from a responsible major power," Lü said, asking that if the crisis drags Europe down, what good will it bring to the US?

The latest CNBC survey showed some 68 percent of chief financial officers expect a recession to occur during the first half of 2023, echoing the forecast by Chinese experts on the outlook for America.

"The incompetence of the Biden administration has become beyond imagination," Lü said.