Biden's Misery Index
Historically, the Misery Index – the sum of the unemployment and inflation rates – has offered a sound benchmark for assessing an incumbent party's electoral prospects. While it isn't perfect, recent polling also suggests that the US Democrats have little reason for optimism about November's midterm congressional elections.
STANFORD – Opinion polls show that Americans are gloomy about the current state of the economy, which 68% rate negatively. Not surprisingly, President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats are focusing on the good news – a low unemployment rate and improved household balance sheets – rather than on the biggest weak spot: inflation.