Rationally or irrationally, presidents are credited or blamed for the economy. Barack Obama brought the country back, albeit too haltingly, from a deep recession. Donald Trump built on those gains, keeping unemployment low and the jobs machine revving until COVID-19, and his abysmal management of the public health crisis, sent trendlines and livelihoods in free fall.
Joe Biden’s charge has been to control the pandemic and put the country back on sound footing, while finally addressing unmet needs and entrenched inequalities that have festered for generations.
For months, Republicans have gloated while, in the wake of Biden’s American Rescue Plan, job creation has lagged and inflation has reared its head. An economy that should be reopening and resurging has been flagging, and that, they’ve argued, is reason against Biden’s multitrillion-dollar, economy-reshaping plans to rebuild infrastructure and help families raise their kids.