WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 10: U.S. President Joe Biden (C) delivers remarks on the February jobs report with Council of Economic Advisers Chair Cecilia Rouse (L) and National Economic Council Director Lael Brained in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on March 10, 2023 in Washington, DC. According to the Labor Department, U.S. employers added 311,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, two-tenths higher than in January. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The White House embraced "Bidenomics" to describe its economic agenda last month, reclaiming a term that President Joe Biden's detractors have frequently used as a pejorative. Various administration officials have since talked up its ambitions. I have no doubt that they're sincere about the importance of the middle-class, infrastructure investments and union jobs with an eye to the presidential election, but this is really a gamble on inflation -- the tax that has hit middle-class pocketbooks hard these past two years.President Biden's team is betting that moderating price pressures, and the significant future declines in inflation already baked in, will boost consumer confidence and his standing with voters. The shifts we've already seen in the past few months suggest it's a smart move.
