Biden’s plans to help struggling Americans are like a kid’s long Christmas list — too optimistic

Then there’s the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is threatening the U.S. and world economies. But saying that makes me feel guilty, selfish even. We have peace here, while Ukrainians are literally fighting for their lives. So what that the Dow Jones industrial average or S&P dips and dives, when over time — based on past performance — investors still come out okay when geopolitical events rock the market?

People are troubled.

Just 21 percent of Americans said they were satisfied with the way things are going — and that was in the first two weeks of February, before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Gallup found the economy was of great concern to Americans, with 42 percent of Americans describing U.S. economic conditions as “poor.” Inflation was ranked as one of the most important economic problems facing the country.

When asked whether they thought the economic conditions in the United States as a whole were getting better or getting worse, 70 percent of Americans said economic conditions were worsening.

“While Americans have a variety of reasons for feeling things are off track, on the whole, the continuation of the pandemic, ongoing inflation, and partisan frustrations seem to be at the heart of their discontent,” Lydia Saad, director of U.S. social research at Gallup, said in a report about the findings.

I listened as Biden ran down his agenda to help struggling Americans. I couldn’t help but feel it was like the Christmas lists my kids used to hand me before the holidays. It was long and optimistically contained things they were not likely to get.

“The pandemic has been punishing,” Biden said. “And so many families are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to keep up with the rising cost of food, gas, housing and so much more.”

Biden rattled off a number of things his administration wants to accomplish:

— “Cut the cost of prescription drugs.”

— “Let Medicare negotiate the price of prescription drugs.”

— “Provide investment tax credits to weatherize your home and your business to be energy efficient and get a tax credit for it.”

— “Lower the price of electric vehicles, saving another $80 a month that you’re not going to have to pay at the pump.”

— “Cut the cost of child care. Folks, if you live in a major city in America, you pay up to $14,000 a year for child care per child. … Middle-class and working folks shouldn’t have to pay more than 7 percent of their income to care for their young children. My plan would cut the cost of child care in half for most families and help parents, including millions of women who left the workforce during the pandemic because they couldn’t afford child care, to be able to get back to work.”

Strengthening the economy this year is what 71 percent of Americans desire and it should be a top priority for Biden and our congressional leaders, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center.

But how likely is Biden to get major economic measures passed in a Congress gridlocked by partisanship?

You would have better odds of hitting a big jackpot at a slot machine in Las Vegas.

And we most definitely can forget about Biden getting much of anything through Congress if the Democrats lose control of the House and Senate in the midterms.

The Gallup and Pew polls show Americans’ continued concern about the inability of our political leaders to support bipartisan legislation that could improve people’s lives financially.

Things could get better if Congress could agree on some fixes. After all, the economy is growing, Saad pointed out in an interview. The U.S. economy grew by 5.7 percent in 2021, the strongest growth in close to 40 years.

“We’re getting these incredible growth numbers in GDP,” Saad said.

Biden made a passionate plea to Congress to act in unity for the sake of the people living paycheck to paycheck.

“Vice President Harris and I ran for office … with a new economic vision for America,” he said. “Invest in America. Educate Americans. Grow the workforce. Build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down. Because we know that when the middle class grows, the poor have a way up and the wealthy do very well.”

Biden’s not wrong.

The problem is, even if Democrats keep control of Congress after the midterms, he’ll still have a difficult battle getting his wish list of policies that could boost not just consumer confidence but the financial lives of the most vulnerable Americans.