I know the question is a rhetorical device, but then the answer still has to be "yes"...we're better off now than four years ago. You can't really ignore the "special circumstances" of the prior administration while including them in the current one. You either include it in both, or black-box it in both.

The answer can clearly be "no." Prices are still remarkably higher than they were back in the pre-pandemic days - while the rate of inflation has fallen, the impact of those raised prices still lingers. Gas was about $2.50 back in the day (for example), and now it's $3.20. The fact that the rate of inflation is down to just slightly higher than the highest of the Trump years is of little comfort. Gas prices are "too high," so Biden's going to be blamed for it. So too with home prices - and interest rates! The fed funds rate is nearly double what it was during the Trump years, and mortgage rates are still several points higher, which puts a lot of pain on people looking to buy a home or finance any large purchase.

We're nearly two years after the pandemic, but I think there's a large slice of the electorate that would prefer to be back in the macroeconomy of late 2019 than late 2024. Which is why so many people are considering voting for Trump. Well, that and the border. They don't like how economic conditions have changed under the Biden Administration, and they don't like Democrats' general policy approach to border controls and enforcement - and both of those are super-high salience issues.

Albaby