Inflation, high gasoline prices, new variants of Covid-19, the internal division of the Democratic Party and political polarization in the United States have in check the agenda of President Joe Biden in his first year in office. The Democrat seems to be running out of ways to ensure favorable results in the next legislative elections.
President Biden came to the presidency promising to return to “normalcy”, control the pandemic, put the economy on track and use his 40 years of experience as a senator to end polarization and renew the bipartisan way of doing politics in Washington.
However, the impossibility of executing his political projects is reflected in a popularity that is around 40%, lower than that of Donald Trump and one of the lowest in recent history in the United States.
Although Biden has managed to get Congress to approve important projects such as the Infrastructure Plan, the multi-million dollar fund to face Covid-19 and has substantially reduced unemployment, the internal division of his party and external factors such as the new variants of the Covid virus -19, inflation and high gasoline prices have their political agenda in check. The average American does not seem to recognize the Democrat’s successes, and polarization exaggerates his failures.
Munchin and the ‘Build Back Better’ plan
Much of Biden’s political agenda is included in the social plan or ‘Build Back Better’. This includes more than half a trillion dollars to combat climate change, 400,000 million dollars to offer free childcare in the country, paid maternity leave, reduced prices of medicines and expansion of the public health service, among others.
A project that will be financed with an increase in taxes on large companies and that initially was going to inject 3.5 trillion dollars into the economy in the coming years, but after internal disputes it is now 1.75 trillion dollars. “The most obvious margin where we will see improvement if the ‘Build Back Better’ plan is implemented is in the reduction of poverty rates. The expansion of the tax credit for children, under the Plan of Rescue of America, estimates a reduction of the rates poverty in minors in 2021 from 14% to 8% “, told France 24 from Washington, Wendy Edelberg, Senior Economist and director of the Hamilton project at the Brookings Institute.
“Right now, there is a child whose family cannot afford their insulin because it costs $ 1,000 a month. The ‘Build Back Better’ Act would limit their monthly insulin costs to $ 35. I am more committed than ever to doing it for them.” President Biden stressed in one of his tweets, as one of the various benefits that his social plan promises.
Right now, there’s a kid out there whose family can’t afford her insulin because it costs $ 1,000 per month. The Build Back Better Act would cap their monthly insulin costs at $ 35. I’m committed as ever to getting it done for them.
– President Biden (@POTUS) December 20, 2021
However, after months of intense debates, negotiations and visits by the president to congress, ‘Build Back Better’ continues to stagnate because the Democratic Party that Biden represents and that has the majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate does not agree to approve it.
An internal divide between progressive and moderate Democrats has prevented the 50 votes needed to pass the plan in the Senate. One of the protagonists of this internal dispute is Senator Joe Munchin of West Virginia, who has met several times with Biden and has had several points removed from the initial plan, but recently stated that he is definitely not going to support the social plan. A hard blow for Biden, who needs to show results in the face of the 2022 legislative elections and who has promised to be the chief negotiator and use his four decades of experience as a congressman to renew the way of doing politics in Washington.
New variants of Covid-19
Controlling the virus was one of Biden’s priorities when he arrived at the White House. Their campaigns to promote vaccination even turned to personalities and ‘influencers’ to convince their population about the vaccine. Today, about 40% of Americans are unvaccinated and although the vaccination rate among adults has increased significantly, the new Delta and Omicron variants have prolonged the pandemic and generated uncertainty, mistrust and unease among many.
White House effort to partner with influencers to increase vaccine rates appears to be chugging along via dude with a sign (who has 7.5M Instagram followers) pic.twitter.com/PCCPtJTbul
– Ursula Perano (@UrsulaPerano) August 13, 2021
About 90% of Covid-19 cases in the United States correspond to Omicron and although the symptoms are less severe than those of the Delta variant, the year ended with long lines to get tested and a skyrocketing rate of hospitalization in major cities like Washington and New York. Situation similar to that of early 2020.
Variants that Biden cannot control despite the effort and the call that his Administration has made for pharmaceutical companies to share patents with the countries that need them most to control the outbreak of new variants that ends up affecting developed countries that have access to vaccines.
“If it touches me, it will touch me. That is my motto, I do not get more vaccines, only two, ‘that’s it’, (up to there). third, I don’t know what reactions I’m going to have, so no more! “Enrique Arias, a street vendor in Columbia Heights, Washington’s Latin Quarter, told France 24.
Inflation and supply chain
The New York Stock Exchange is rocketing and the major indices have had a great year. In addition, unemployment is below 5%, lower than it was in the months of 2016. The minimum wage has grown and consumption has increased, the number of job opportunities has reached record figures and it is possible that this is the best year to find a job, highlights journalist Derek Thompson in the magazine ‘The Atlantic‘.
Despite the improving economy, the average American has seen a substantial increase in the prices of basic products and gasoline. Factors that directly affect the pockets of Americans and that generate uncertainty and confusion in the face of the Biden Administration. In fact, the inflation rate reached 6.8% in November 2021, the highest in the last three decades. Also, the price of gasoline has risen 58.1 percent since last year, the largest increase since April 1980, according to the US Bureau of Statistics.
The crisis in the supply chain, the sudden increase in consumption after the opening of the economy and the slow response in the supply of oil from countries and oil companies are some of the explanations offered by the White House. Yet the average American who has had to go through intermittent quarantines and the ins and outs of a pandemic, the justifications for external variables that a president cannot control, seem to fall short. Especially when the promises were to control the pandemic and reactivate the economy.
Legislative elections are at stake
November 8, 2022 are the legislative elections in the United States. They will be contesting 35 seats in the Senate (one third) and 435 in the House of Representatives (all). Right now, Democrats have a majority over Republicans in both Houses. However, there is a consensus among analysts that Republicans will regain the majority in Congress if Democrats are unable to agree to pass big bills like ‘Build Back Better’ that allow them to show results to their voters.
A Republican victory in Congress would mean an almost instantaneous blocking of any initiative by Joe Biden and the Democrats. Situation that would show the inability they had to execute their agenda despite controlling the White House and Congress. Self-sabotage would no longer be the problem because Republicans would take it upon themselves to sink the president’s promises, compromising his reelection interest in the process.
.