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Sunday evening brought with it an unexpected event as a vehicle collided with a parked SUV that was part of President Biden’s motorcade near his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware. The incident happened when Biden was making his way from the campaign office to his waiting armored SUV.
Contact was made with a U.S. Secret Service vehicle that was in place to secure intersections. Subsequently, the sedan attempted to enter the prohibited intersection where it was swiftly surrounded by Secret Service agents who instructed the driver to show his hands.
Following the collision, the president was swiftly escorted away to the security of his vehicle, which already held his wife, just a short way away from the incident. Neither President Obama nor First Lady Jill Biden were in any way affected by this incident. Onlookers watched as the president’s vehicle, left with noticeable bumper damage, was hastily surrounded, undoubtedly an unexpected end to their day.
Economic policy, always a staple part of any presidential campaign, played a huge role in President Biden’s campaign. However, it seems these policies, collectively known as ‘Bidenomics,’ are currently experiencing their own collision with reality. A recent report has indicated a sharp increase in homelessness, moving up to 12 percent in just the last year. This significant rise has set a new record, says The Washington Post.
?#BREAKING: Clearer footage of the Presidential motorcade incident shows the moment when Joe Biden was walking out of his campaign headquarters and about 9 seconds into the footage, you can hear the crash as a car collides with his motorcade. The driver of the car is reportedly… pic.twitter.com/LZnPoBkTtM
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) December 18, 2023
The Department of Housing and Urban Development, last week, released a report showing that over 650,000 individuals experienced homelessness, if only for the minimum of one night it was recorded in January. This signals a 12 percent increase from the same period last year and is reported to be the highest count ever since the introduction of this report in 2007.
“Homlessness should not even be a conversation in the United States,” stated HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge. Fudge drew urgent attention to the released data, emphasizing the pressing need to bolster proven solutions to curb homelessness and prevent its inception in the first place.
The report examined the racial demographics experiencing homelessness and revealed Asian Americans were leading, with 40 percent representation. Black Americans formed 37 percent, while Hispanics made up 33 percent of the homeless population. Executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Jeff Olivet, remarked that exorbitant housing costs and scarcity of affordable homes are the primary factors pushing many Americans to the brink of homelessness.
California, New York, Washington, and Florida were cited in the report as the states accounting for the majority of the homeless population. The Washington Post, however, noted that the figures declared in this annual one-night count may not reflect the total count, thus not accurately serving as a census.
Donald Whitehead, the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, expressed this. “This report should be considered a driver for action, not just a representation of the count,” Whitehead said in an interview with The Washington Post. “This data is beneficial in strategic planning, as well as in tracking trends.”
Facilities like hotels have been serving as shelters, alongside the transformation of temporary spaces into permanent housing. These strategies were made possible through the American Rescue Plan Act’s covid-era funds, which enabled these significant improvements to take place.
President Biden has never missed an opportunity to talk about his ‘Bidenomics’ plan and credit his economic policies for improving American life. However, it seems the actual experiences of the people disagree with his assertions. Many claim that the policies have actually led to budget cuts for the festive season, with some individuals even having to increase their working hours or take an additional job just to keep up with holiday expenses.
Empower’s 2023 Holiday Spending report revealed troubling numbers – 74 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed disclosed that inflation has caused them to spend less this holiday season, with 31 percent admitting to working longer hours to remain financially stable. Moreover, more than a third, around 34%, of the respondents said they are saving more, even at the expense of gift-giving or non-essential expenditures like eating out.
Courtney Burrell, Empower’s representative, highlighted that adjustments to holiday budgets would vary depending on individual priorities. Some might prioritize traveling to visit rarely seen family members while cutting back on decorations. Others might limit their social commitments to provide a larger budget for holiday gifts.
“Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they plan on spending less than $250 on gifts this year, and more than one in 10 admits to allotting more than $1,000 for gifts, according to the survey,” the Empower’s representative noted.
Despite the financial hardships, retail statistics show an increase in spending during the holiday season. Shopping over the Thanksgiving weekend broke previous records, and overall holiday shopping is predicted to exceed past numbers.
However, this surge in spending does raise concerns as it comes at a time when American consumers are already dealing with high levels of credit card debt. With debt balances increasing and interest rates on the rise, some experts warn of a potential crisis brewing if more people are unable to meet their debt repayments. This is a crucial issue that warrants attention, Fox Business reported.
