Biden’s America is not looking so good. Inflation has caused many families to struggle with the everyday aspects of life. Groceries are more expensive, gas is more expensive, and even utilities are more expensive.
There has to be some kind of relief – though there’s none in sight for many hard-working Americans. And, due to some of the Biden administration’s policies, the financial struggles aren’t ending anytime soon.
Rent is higher. Those buying a home have to pay higher interest rates. And don’t even get us started on the warnings from utility companies that rates will be higher for the upcoming winter months.
Although Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act last month, no one is holding their breath to see it actually fix inflation. As such, American families are preparing to deal with paying for everything in a different way.
Buy now/pay later schemes are showing up almost everywhere. It allows people to get what they need now without thinking about the financial consequences. They’ll figure out how to pay for everything later – hopefully once the economy starts to improve.
The reality is that the government can’t hide the fact that things are more expensive. The latest consumer price index from the Labor Department shows that the cost of everyday goods is up 8.3% over prior year. And food is up particularly high at 11.4% more than prior year and fuel is up 25.6%.
Considering that food, gas, and rent are considered necessities, Americans have no choice but to reach out to credit cards so that they can cover the costs. And for those who don’t want credit cards or can’t qualify for them, the solution is to use the “buy now, pay later” programs that are being offered with greater frequency.
Krista Phillips is the executive VP and head of branded cards and markets at Wells Fargo. She affirmed that ““When it comes to credit card spending over the past couple of years, we have seen categories shift on where people are spending their money, and right now our top categories are grocery and gas.”
A Harvard Study also showed that many Americans are leaning toward the buy now pay later (BNPL) programs as a way to bridge the gap once credit cards are maxed out.
As Fox Business explains, the BNPL programs serve as virtual layaway. It helps to soften the blow so that people don’t have to pay for everything upfront.
And there are more BNPL apps available than ever before, including Zilch, Zip, and Klarna being used for even the most basic of necessities.
The New York Times has estimated that the BNPL transactions over the past year add up to $45.9 billion – and that’s triple the amount of 2020.
This isn’t overspending of the American people. It’s not like the majority of these transactions are for vacations or concert tickets. It’s so that people can put food on the table – and that shows an absolute fail from the Biden administration.
As much as Biden wants to address inflation, saying that he knows it’s hard, he has no clue. He’s been earning in the triple digits for decades because of being a senator, a VP, and now the president.
Americans are struggling, and when it’s time to pay on all of these BNPL transactions, the economy may not be fixed – and then what? We’re almost afraid to ask. The only thing we can do is ensure that more fiscally responsible individuals head into Congress – and that’s why the midterm elections are becoming more and more important.
