Biden to Date

There is no doubt in my mind that U.S. President Joe Biden has accomplished quite a bit since his inauguration.

He managed to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that has released funds to state and municipal governments to begin to address the U.S.’s serious infrastructural deficiencies. 

His administration also passed a $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill that included $20 billion for the COVID vaccination program.

Just last week, the Senate passed a major $750 million-plus bill the Inflation Reduction Act that includes $369 billion for environmental protection and $280 billion inn relief for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As well, the price of gasoline is under $4 for the first time in months.

The unemployment rate has fallen from 6.9% during the Trump administration to some 3.6% currently. In June, the U.S. added some 372,000 jobs to the economy.

And U.S. forces managed to kill Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda’s leader.

This was yesterday’s good news.

Today however, an inflation rate of some 9.1% means bad news for the average American’s pocketbook. Neither are high gas prices that affect the cost of everything that the economy produces or imports.

The question is: is this the fault of the Biden administration?

I believe not.

Post-COVID inflation is a global phenomenon, as are high gasoline prices. Demand is too high; labor is tough to get, and goods are unavailable. While it is not 100% Biden, all governments and central banks bear responsibility for poor monetary policy and for not acting quickly enough to cut spending and raise interest rates. The cost of gasoline in the United States are determined by five factors: well head cost of a barrel of oil, transportation cost to refinery and market, federal taxes, state and municipal taxes, consumer demand and the prices set by major oil companies.

Contrary to popular thinking, the federal tax of 18 cents on the gallon goes to maintain U.S. roadways – essential for the survival of the economy. Should the Congress legislate an end to this tax, it would have to find the funding for maintenance of the nation’s roadways from other sources, thus either cutting other services or increasing taxes in other areas.

Whatever, it is not within Biden’s power to unilaterally cut taxes or gasoline prices.

Another major issue that has landed on Biden’s desk is the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe vs. Wade, making abortion a serious crime in many states and affecting tens of millions of women directly. 

This has caused joy on the extreme right, but havoc in the Democratic Party.

The left is insisting on Biden’s expanding the Court to thirteen justices to eliminate the stranglehold that the extreme right has on the Court that has the final say on the constitutionality of any passed by the elected Congress. This would require Congressional approval, where the Democrats have a bare majority.

The Republicans, in control of many states, are passing Draconian laws to restrict the rights of women and criminalize abortion and contraception.

Biden holds a centrist position that appears to be doing little but talk. This is tantamount to doing nothing in the eyes of many voters, especially women voters who are not only the victims of these policies but also tend to vote for Democrats. A decision by voters who feel this way could lead them to stay at home on voting day and thus affect Democrat chances for success.

Focusing on the record high inflation affecting millions, the right-wing media ignores the areas of economic progress the U.S. has made since he assumed office. Due to these issues, Biden’s overall objective to bring the country together has not been successful. Although he attracted some Republican support to pass his two trillion-dollar bills, in hindsight the timing could not have been worse. Meanwhile, a significant majority of Republicans continue to believe that the 2020 election was somehow stolen from former president Trump.

The clash in views on the economy and the ongoing promotion of the big lie makes it practically impossible to envisage any real dialogue between both extremes anytime soon. 

On the Democrat side, the centrist media plays up divisions in the Party, an image of chaos and inaction, and a portrayal of Biden as an ineffectual president, unable or unwilling to address the constant attacks on the Constitution by extremist Republican leaders or indeed, control the national narrative to some degree.

What can the Democrats do in the lead-up to the November mid-term elections and beyond?

Democrats must accept that the perfect is the enemy of the good. Extremist positions may sound pure and noble, but their stridency alienates many voters in what has always been a conservative nation.

The President and his party must arrive at a strong consensus to adopt a few concrete messages that attack Republican attempts to subvert the Constitution and must propose viable alternatives strongly supported by all Democrats. 

They must also choose candidates who connect with voters at a personal level and reflect the demographics of American society. Although an issue for both parties, Octogenarians whose time has passed must hand over the reins of power to younger leaders more in tune with the aspirations of the American population – especially during a digital revolution!

Finally, they must unite and go for the Republicans’ jugular rather than for each other’s.

Absent this, 2022 and 2024 will augur a sad era in American governance that will affect us all.

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Edición: Laura Espejo