That agenda never materialized, and the government instead cut off the temporary aid programs — leaving many millions of Americans struggling to stay afloat.
Didn’t the Republicans manufacture a debt ceiling crisis and demand the above aid cuts under threat of sending us into default? Am I remembering correctly?
Apparently now it was Biden the whole time?
I think it was complete bluff, and Biden probably knew that but the reality is he’s pro-austerity. He can’t say it outright since it’s unpopular, but he’s still quite conservative and believer in the economic/corporate status quo. It might be deliberate, or it might be that he’s literally just not imsginative enough to see outside his own bubble.
i don’t see how you can make this argument when he’s presided over the largest expansion in social spending since the Great Society and has approved something in the ballpark of 4 or 5 trillion dollars in new spending between stimulus bills and his political priorities. a serious debate in the Democratic caucus was over whether to spend “just” 1.75 trillion or go for 2.2 trillion in spending. if this is austerity the word has absolutely no meaning at this point.
It’s always baffling to me how easily the republicans can do bad things and then just say “the Democrats did it.” I’m always reminded of when Mitch McConnell filibustered his own bill because the Democrats got behind it.
Remember the tax cuts passed under Trump? Businesses got it forever. Guess whose tax cuts are about to expire, and guess who is going to get blamed for “raising taxes“ afterwards? 
