Not to fully disagree but the writer is 20-something and you're 42. At 42 you seem to think you've seen enough history to condemn Democrats and anyone you deem non-progressive enough. I'm 61 and can tell you with no doubt at all that the majority of people in their 20s have to go through with the same problems you suffered.
And remind me of the time when people of the country benefitted from the "empire" (what?) and the power of the dollar and strong labor.
Hint: that wasn't the time you claim to have missed out on. There have never been "the good old days" when Americans enjoyed what you picture, with the exception of the 1950s to early 1960s. Families could then buy housing, live on a single salary, and enjoy a "modest" lifestyle. But it was "modest" for the vast majority, especially when compared to what you envision.
Biden and Democrats and Progressives in general want to raise income taxes and taxes on big business. Like it or not, the 91% marginal rate in effect since FDR got it enacted that dropped to 70% under JFK are not coming back, although those tax rates helped the economy boom and the nation prosper. If Biden's tax proposals can be enacted, they go a long way towards relieving a lot of the income inequality we now face. We had a larger middle class but even then, things weren't as good as you and other younger people seem to believe they were- people my age didn't- as I been accused of- take all the good things and pull the ladder up behind us. If you are truly progressive, you'd be celebrating the fact that centrist left Democrats are making real change possible because it wouldn't have happened without those left-centrists who know how government works and know how to get things done. I admire AOC and the Squad but none of them have the experience needed to accomplish big things in Congress. And at age 42, you were born when Reagan was in Office but didn't live through the changes he initiated to get and keep faux "conservatives" in positions of power; if you want to blame someone else for your financial problems start with him, the President who went on television and said "Greed is good". A small group of people took that gold of which you speak and very few were actually Democrats so you would be wise to aim your ire elsewhere. Unless Democrats, Leftists, Independents and Progressives work together, now, then any chance of substantial reform of the ills of society will vanish like smoke in a breeze so I sincerely, perhaps desperately, hope a bunch of factions don't stop what can be done now because what can be done now makes more possible later. There's nothing progressive about insisting on radical, immediate changes because that's merely short-term thinking; wise people take the long term view of creating strong foundations that will ensure lasting change. As should all caring, progressively minded citizens.
