A divided Congress confronts Biden's economic agenda
The president called on lawmakers to finish the job in his State of the Union address. He demanded a new tax for the super-wealthy, a crackdown against Big Tech companies and other financial support for families including medical leave.
It was an indirect way for those who follow the issues to acknowledge that many of these conservative party proposals had been submitted in the past two years, and did not advance despite Democrats controlling both houses of Congress.
The chances of them becoming a reality are decreasing with Republicans holding the majority of the House of Representatives.
Douglas Holtz Eakin, president and CEO of the American Action Forum in Washington, stated that "a lot of them weren't serious legislative proposals – they were campaign points, politics." He said that tax increases were not likely to become law.
There are some major victories Mr Biden has to celebrate from the past two years. $550bn (PS455bn), that the federal government will direct to roads, bridges, and other infrastructure projects. $280bn will be invested in high-tech manufacturing; another $400m for green technology technologies.
However, despite these wins, a poll conducted by Washington Post-ABC News revealed that both Republicans and Independents felt the president had done very little in his term. This view was shared by 22% of Democrats.
Analysts believe it will be difficult to change this perception over the next two-years.
Already, business groups are restraining Mr. Biden's proposed regulatory changes, including the curbing of so-called "junk fees" that banks, airlines, and other companies charge customers or banning so-called noncompete agreements, which restrict employees' ability to work for competitors.
Suzanne Clarke, president of the US Chamber of Commerce, tweeted that "overregulation will stop progress from its tracks" in response to President Obama's speech.
Few people expect results even on issues that seem to have both sides wanting to act.
Both Republicans and Democrats applauded the president's call to action on Big Tech. However, Congress has not yet produced any change in terms of new rules that date back to Trump's administration.
Republicans and Democrats tried to reach a compromise last year that would allow tax changes for business in return for expanding the child credit. This tax credit is credited with helping millions of children get out of poverty after Congress increased it as part its pandemic relief program.
These talks also ended in failure.
Elaine Maag is a senior fellow at Urban Institute, a Washington think-tank focused on equity and opportunity.
"I am confident that there are more than 50 votes in the Senate to pass an expanded credit for tax." I am less certain that the House has enough votes to pass a large piece of legislation such as this.
Elaine Kamarck is a senior fellow at Brookings Institution's left-leaning Brookings Institution. She says people shouldn't be quick to dismiss the president’s chances. Noting that with such narrowly divided Congress, getting some of his ideas through would only require a few votes, she urges people not to rush to judge the president's chances.
She said that Republicans are now a more populist party today than they were a few years back.
She said, "This isn't your grandfather's Republican Party which was all Wall Streeters or businessmen. So you can see some votes being picked off."
However, Mr Holtz Eakin stated that the White House is reducing its economic message to Mr Biden's big ambitions.
"I believe there is a realization that the Build Back better agenda was too large. It never added up, and the American people do not support it," stated Mr Holtz Eakin. He pointed out that the president's approval rating, which continues to hover around the low 40%, is a sign of his inability to win.
In fact, Mr Biden did mention some of the most important issues facing the progressive Democratic base, such as student debt relief and family and medical leave. Raising the minimum wage was not supported.
Dean Baker, senior economist at Center for Economic and Policy Research said that Mr Biden is careful to celebrate his achievements without drawing too much attention on the losses.
He stated that he knows he won't get much through Congress, and that it doesn't make any sense to throw out all the things they don't want to hear. He's being realistic, I think.
