Progressive Economic Policy Only Gets Harder From Here
War in Ukraine is combining with persistent inflation to create a new political dynamic in Washington where only bipartisan proposals for the economy will stand a chance.
The window has closed.
Photographer: Bryan R. Smith/AFP
The short-lived era of progressive economic policy making is dead. War in Ukraine has led to at least a short-term surge in the price of commodities like oil, and has made both inflation and national security more salient in the minds of voters.
Midterm elections are usually rough for the sitting President's party, and at the moment a divided government is looking more likely in 2023 than the chance of Democrats retaining control of both Congress and the White House. But don't look for 2023 to be a replay of the political environment we had in 2011 after Republicans swept Congress under President Barack Obama.