What did happen under Biden was a decline in real incomes—in household purchasing power. Prices had risen sharply in 2021–22, and even though the inflation rate was transient—contrary to screams from economists—the change in price levels was not. Wages struggled to catch up. Many people living on savings and pensions never did. While the White House moved quickly to bring down gas prices with oil sales from the Strategic Reserve, it did little to stop firms from padding their margins. Profits surged, as did rents, land prices, and the stock market. The Biden economists had overlooked a fundamental fact, which is that the ultimate benefit of any “stimulative” policy flows to those with market power—to land and to capital—regardless of how it may be distributed at first.