FAKE News
There’s a compelling story from a White House meeting between then-Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and Joe Biden. As they sat surrounded by advisors, strategists, and experts, Biden leaned over to Löfven with a familiar, slow drawl: “You know, Stefan, we’re probably the only ones in this room who really know what it’s like to come from the working class.”
We fact checked this beautiful anecdote and found it was false. Biden and Löfvén never met in the White House. The text appeared in a Swedish newspaper, and the author Per Wirtén hinted it was made up. The message was that Bidenomics hasn't been too bad — low unemployment, steep decline in child poverty, and a strong GDP growth where comparisons show the U.S. outperforming many peer economies in recovery metrics.
As of August 2024, wage growth in the United States has been outpacing inflation. Specifically, wages grew by 4.6% year-over-year, while inflation stood at 2.5% during the same period.
| Year | Unemployment Rate (%) |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 6.2 |
| 2015 | 5.3 |
| 2016 | 4.9 |
| 2017 | 4.4 |
| 2018 | 3.9 |
| 2019 | 3.7 |
| 2020 | 8.1 |
| 2021 | 5.4 |
| 2022 | 3.6 |
| 2023 | 3.5 |
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