Biden’s First Year Reviewed
President Biden came into the Oval office with high aspirations, economic recovery, defeating the coronavirus, and reversing Trump-Era policies. We will delve into each of these, seeing if the moderate came through with control over the senate and the house.
The Economy
Biden’s first year saw the unemployment rate dip massively, a bright spot on the otherwise intermediate economic improvements. The rate fell from 6.3% in January of 2021 to 3.9% in December 2021, outdoing former President Trump’s 0.7% decrease from January 2017 to December of the same year. The stock markets also saw significant improvements, with the DOW Jones climbing 18.73%.
Now comes the issue, the inflation rate reached the highest since 1990. The rate of 7% has significantly affected multiple low-income households. The national debt increased by $2 trillion, from $27.8 trillion to $29.8 trillion. Not to mention supply chain issues. Democrats have claimed these issues will dilute once the pandemic is under control.
The Pandemic
Biden promised a swift defeat to this pandemic, stating he and Vice President Harris had a plan to squash the virus. Seeing that two of the most significant surges came under his presidency, this has been far from true. Coronavirus deaths under Biden surpassed those of Trump’s by about sixty-three thousand.
The ability to get at-home COVID tests has been nearly impossible, though Biden promised to ensure that households would be easily able to access them. Recently, he has been able to purchase them and distribute them four per household.
The most significant blow comes in the people’s approval of Biden’s control over the pandemic; it sits at a measly 36%.
Foreign Struggles
While still a heavily debated subject, Biden’s removal of American troops from Afghanistan has received extreme backlash. This was just the first foreign policy missteps the new president took.
The second came in the most recent months with Russian aggression against Ukraine. Recently, it has looked more and more like Putin will mobilize his military to invade Ukraine. Americans seem confused with the lack of pushback from Biden, and many feel he has conceded on the subject.
The third and most recent is the North Korean threat of reopening their nuclear and missile research. It was seen as one of the positives from the Trump era, North Korea’s discontinuation of their missile and nuclear programs.
Conclusion
Biden’s approval rating sits at 41.9%, while his disapproval is 53.5%. Even among Democrats, he has dropped in favor by sitting twelve points lower between November and December.
Though he seems to have a slightly higher approval rating than Trump, Biden’s first year isn’t much to write home about. He’s failed to pass much with control of both the house and the senate in Democratic hands. The “Voting Rights Act” is likely to fail after the filibuster is upheld, and in turn, “Build Back Better” will likely fall.
2022 could be a scary year for the Democratic party if they can’t get back on track for the upcoming midterms.
Sources
https://www.foxnews.com/media/time-magazine-cover-biden-first-year
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-president-first-year-review/
