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Commentary
Joe Biden’s drama-free White House is America’s most under-appreciated Christmas gift
With Hanukkah just over, and Christmas fast approaching, Americans are thinking a lot about gifts these days. According to Gallup in fact, we’re on pace to spend more this holiday season than we have in a quarter century.
Much of the reason for this can be attributed to President Joe Biden’s administration, which has helped engineer an economic recovery few thought possible when he came into office. Under his watch, inflation has plummeted with no sign of a recession. GDP growth was at 5% last quarter, with historically low unemployment, and robust wage growth.
The central mystery of this holiday season, for Biden, is why the American people seem to regard this booming economy as a lump of coal.
Theories abound. Some experts point to the cumulative effects of inflation, the skyrocketing price of homes, and the rising number of Americans whose views of the economy are based on fatalistic social media posts. Others cite the incessant economic fear-mongering of Fox News and its ilk. Still others blame the rise of hyper-partisanship.
The central mystery of this holiday season, for Biden, is why the American people seem to regard this booming economy as a lump of coal.
Whatever the reasons, I can’t help but think of Biden and his economic team, toiling away without much fanfare, like Santa and his elves. Whether or not you support him, it’s worth acknowledging a few of the gifts Santa Joe has tucked under our tree this year.
A holiday meal sans masks. COVID hasn’t gone away; it’s now endemic. But thanks, in part, to Biden’s aggressive push to vaccinate the public, 2023 brought the end of the national emergency phase of the pandemic.
More buying power. For all the hyper-ventilating about inflation in the conservative media, Biden and the Federal Reserve have managed to engineer the “soft landing” once thought impossible. The result? Wage growth is now outpacing inflation.
Cheaper prescription drugs. As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden took the fight to Big Pharma and capped the cost of insulin at $35 per month. By allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices directly, the law will eventually lower the price of numerous additional drugs.
Jobs, jobs and more jobs. In his first two years in office, Biden shepherded four historic bills through a narrowly divided Congress: the aforementioned Inflation Reduction Act, the American Rescue Plan, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The result? Nearly 11 million new jobs, including 750,000 in manufacturing.
Student debt relief. Nearly 750,000 borrowers received a total of $53.5 billion dollars in debt relief in the past year, courtesy of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness plan. All told, the plan will cancel some $132 billion dollars in federal student loan debts for more than 3.6 million Americans.
Gun safety legislation. Following the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a racially motivated mass murder at a supermarket in Buffalo, Biden was able to bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass the Safer Communities Act, the first major gun legislation in three decades. The law requires enhanced background checks for potential gun buyers up to 21 years of age, helps keep guns out of the hands of convicted dating partners (thus narrowing the so-called “boyfriend loophole”) and a host of other measures.
Relative peace of mind. This one is harder to measure. But I think many of us take Biden’s relative “dullness” for granted. It wasn’t long ago that we had a president who suggested we inject bleach into our bodies, praised dictators and white nationalists, dispatched the National Guard on peaceful protestors, and incited a violent mob to attack the Capitol. (To say nothing of the four criminal indictments pending against him.) Biden may be 80 and a little bit boring, but his administration has been chaos and scandal free.
Given this bounty, it’s worth asking what Santa Joe has on his Christmas list. Here’s my best guess:
Some good press. Biden’s administration has been “among the most productive of any president in the past half century,” according to an analysis by The Atlantic. It would be nice if the Fourth Estate covered his policy achievements, and how they are affecting Americans' lives.
Military aid for Ukraine. As part of his foreign policy effort to limit the expansionist ambitions of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Biden has pleaded with Congress to allocate additional funds to support the Ukrainian forces battling an unprovoked Russian invasion. The U.S. has sent $71 billion in aid to Ukraine so far, which has allowed them to defend their homeland. But Republicans have tied the latest supplemental funding bill to demands for greater U.S. border security. Without American support, Russian forces could take over Ukraine, and leave Putin emboldened.
A Congress willing to legislate. Divided government is a durable reality of American politics. And Biden has long maintained that he is happy to work with Republicans when they can find common ground, on issues ranging from immigration to voting rights. But the GOP, which holds a slim majority in the House of Representatives, can barely find common cause within its own caucus, having booted Kevin McCarthy from the role of speaker, and handed the gavel to Mike Johnson only after weeks of feuding. It will be a small miracle if House Republicans vote to avert a government shutdown in January. They are likely to devote more energy to a baseless impeachment inquiry against Biden than any actual legislating.
Such is the life of Santa Joe in today’s political environment: whatever gifts he might bestow will be largely ignored, and he can expect perpetual harassment. It’s enough to make even the nicest fellow turn into a Grinch.
