Ahead of Biden’s State of the Union, here’s how he’s delivered on his priorities so far
“It’s a significant step forward,” said Jonathan Bydlak, director of the governance program at the R Street Institute, a right-leaning think tank, referring to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Bydlak said he didn’t support the infrastructure package, but it should be — yet isn’t — serving as a template for Biden, who “was largely elected to be a moderate.”
“That particular model is what Biden should be doing everywhere that he possibly can,” the R Street expert said. “He got some level of Republican support, it was an issue that a broad number of Americans generally agree with, and it fits with the reason he was elected in the first place.”
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Biden a year ago stressed that there would be no tax hikes for people making less than $400,000.
“Strictly speaking, yes, I think he’s probably held to that promise,” R Street’s Bydlak said. Increased spending, however, is making it more likely that the Biden administration or some future administration will “have to go and raise taxes to deal with it.”
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One thing that Biden didn’t address in his April 2021 speech was inflation, as his only mention of prices had to do with prescription drugs. Now it’s a hot topic and a problem ahead of November’s midterm elections for Democrats who hold the White House and both congressional chambers, how ever narrowly. Recent data have shown the U.S. rate of inflation at a 40-year high.
“The fact that it wasn’t in the speech tells you all you need to know about how much of a priority it was,” R Street’s Bydlak said. “There’s plenty of blame on both sides to go around here. Majorities in both parties for a long time have basically operated under the assumption that they can spend whatever they want, and there really aren’t going to be consequences from it.”
