Biden’s American Rescue Plan further expanding social welfare after the CARES Act and Consolidated Appropriations Act. The horrifying surge in poverty — and economic insecurity more broadly — afterward is attributable to pandemic aid programs expiring or being eliminated during a cost-of-living crisis. In 2024, Kamala Harris chose not to campaign on resurrecting a version of the pandemic welfare state, despite it having led to a historic reduction in economic hardship in 2021 and the cost of living having been voters’ top concern since 2022.