Since WWII, inflation averaged 3.69% when Democrats were in command vs. 3.59% for Republicans
My trusty spreadsheet reviewed inflation rates and White House administrations dating back to World War II. The stats were staggered by six months — so credit or blame for whatever happened in presidential transition years was somewhat shared.
So if the cost-of-living challenge is Biden’s fault, he also should get credit for unemployment falling to a 4.6% from 8.1% in 2020. That 3.5-point drop was bested only by another Democrat, Bill Clinton.Inflation — and the Federal Reserve’s fierce fight against it — gave this Democrat a short White House stint . Global tensions and economic mismanagement meshed to create 10.2% average inflation — the highest in this post-WWII history. The cost of living surged from 5.8% gains to 13.
This Republican era of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, after Nixon’s resignation, averaged 6.4% inflation — the second highest of the 10 periods ranked. As Arab oil embargoes added to other cost-of-living woes, inflation rose from 4.2% to 5.8% in eight years — an increase of 1.5 points, the third-worst over eight years.
The younger Bush’s 5.2% unemployment average — No. 6 — didn’t include much of the brewing Great Recession. Joblessness went from 4% to 5.8% after eight years — but that hike was the fourth-largest since 1944.The Democrat’s term was a mix of mild price hikes and ample employment. Inflation averaged 2.6% — No. 5 lowest — going from 3.04% to 3.37%, the fifth-biggest increase. The 5.4% unemployment average — No. 5 — came as joblessness dropped from 7.5% to 4% — the best performance since WWII.