Heading into a bruising reelection fight, President Joe Biden faces an abysmal 38% approval rating on the economy. Yet the White House and much of the media blame the voters for failing to understand how good they’ve had it since 2021, with pundits and cable TV hosts trying to solve the mystery of how voters could possibly be so displeased with soaring prices, spiraling interest rates, massive budget deficits, and stagnant wages. Biden correctly reminds voters that he inherited a difficult economy. However, his aggressive spending and regulations proceeded to drive inflation, interest rates, and federal debt even higher than necessary.

The economic tone of this administration was set in its first 50 days with the enactment of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Any voters still holding out hope that a Biden White House would be moderate, prudent, bipartisan, deficit-focused, or even willing to listen to economists instead witnessed the establishment of a highly political, partisan, and quite ideologically progressive administration.