On paper, the Biden administration has delivered several successes in its first year. Even though they’ve all been watered down by corporate meddling, the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the potential Build Back Better framework all promise significant government investment in progressive priorities, from an expanded social safety net to much-needed climate action. President Joe Biden also pulled the country out of the Afghanistan quagmire and has significantly cut back military drone strikes. So why does it feel like the Biden presidency is such a colossal failure?

In this week’s Weekend Reader, we highlight a thoughtful New York Times opinion column that suggests an answer: Biden’s efforts are nowhere near as ambitious as they need to be to address our mounting crises — and the power structures put in place by Republicans and big business might not let Biden do any better.

Read all about it in this week’s Weekend Reader, exclusively for paying subscribers below.