How Biden’s domestic policy record stacks up against public perception

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden ends his term with a gulf between his policy record and his public reputation. He also tried to criticize oil companies he judged as profiteering and food companies that reduced the size of their items through “shrinkflation.” Labor Department data shows that consumer prices rose a combined 20.8% during the course of Biden’s presidency, but people’s average weekly earnings rose just 17.4% over the same period. But just like infrastructure, the new factories supported by the law will largely take time to finish and ramp up production, meaning that much of Biden’s legacy could unfold during Trump’s presidency. Biden ultimately admitted that climate change provisions that could shift America’s energy sources further away from fossil fuels was more important than the short-term political messaging that he was trying to bring down prices. “I wish I hadn’t called it that because it has less to do with reducing inflation than it has to do with providing alternatives that generate economic growth,” Biden said at a 2023 fundraiser in Utah, adding that he still believes that with the law “we’re literally reducing the cost of people being able to meet their basic needs.” Taking on pocketbook issues and bipartisanship Biden took a two-prong approach on issues that largely eluded the public radar.