Inside the Oval Office, Joe Biden is convinced that “our economy has gone from being on the mend to being on the move.” What he doesn’t see from his view at 1600 Pennsylvania is that our economy is moving in the wrong direction.

Under Biden’s watch, the worst inflation in 40 years has forced rent and fuel prices to their highest point in history and our economy to shrink for the first time since the early pandemic. On average, households are spending an extra $433 each month to keep up with skyrocketing prices. Outside the White House gates, it comes as no surprise that among American adults, our struggling economy ranks as the most important problem facing the nation.

In the Volunteer State, I hear from Tennesseans who are barely staying afloat. Fertilizer costs have made it harder for farmers to reach their bottom line, and business owners worry about stocking their shelves. Among Tennessee families, the nearly 9% inflation rate has forced seniors back into the workforce and made it more difficult for working moms and dads already making tough decisions about what necessities they can afford.

While families are stretching their paychecks, the left is convinced that the only way to get rid of inflation is to “undo a lot of the Trump tax cuts,” raise rates, and spend their way into recovery. They know this will only make things worse, but still, Democrats in Congress are taking another run at forcing through Biden’s “Build Back Broke” agenda. That’s not all. The left also has a scheme to hold hostage much-needed aid for the people of Ukraine until Congress passes yet another multibillion dollar spending package for COVID.

Democrats are eager to keep spending but refuse to take any responsibility for the consequences. First, they jumped to blame supply chains, then COVID. Next, it was the “greedy corporations,” and now, it’s all Putin’s fault. If the spin were true, America would be on the same path as other countries, but inflation shot up faster and higher in America than in Germany, Britain, and much of Europe.

Inflation isn’t getting worse because of one global crisis but because the Democrats refuse to sacrifice their radical agenda for the sake of the country. The time has come for Joe Biden to decide if he’s going to put his party first or his nation. Right now, his willingness to consider a mass student loan forgiveness program indicates the former.

Joe Biden would rather boast about cherry-picked numbers or pressure Congress to push through even more taxpayer spending than face the reality he created. If he has any chance of reversing course, he needs to look outside the White House gates and put the brakes on spending to stop our economy from heading off a cliff.