The news about the economy seems almost bizarrely good.

Growth is increasing, unemployment is falling. Inflation has fallen to around 3%, the slowest pace in almost three years. The Federal Reserve has even hinted that it might cut interest rates, sending stock markets soaring.

But this news hasn’t helped President Biden’s standing in the polls much. His approval rating remains below 40%; no president has won a second term from such a dangerous starting point.

The disconnect is not difficult to explain. The rate of inflation has slowed, but prices are still high, the lingering hangover of the recovery. Wage increases have not caught up (at least not tangibly), leaving many families still struggling to make ends meet.

And that poses a challenge for Biden and his campaign strategists: How can they convince unhappy voters that not only are better times ahead, but that he deserves some credit?

The president’s initial strategy was to trumpet the recovery of the economy and point to his legislative achievements: an infrastructure bill, spending on tech jobs and negotiations to lower drug prices as the driving force behind it.

He called it Bidenomics, but the self-congratulatory slogan went unnoticed. Some surveys found that mentioning it made voters moodier.

Democrats are understandably alarmed. And the White House is getting free advice from some, including Stanley Greenberg, a veteran pollster and strategist who helped Bill Clinton win the presidency 30 years ago.

What we are doing is not working, Greenberg said last week. We need a new strategy.

In Greenberg’s latest poll, a collaboration between his firm Democracy Corps and PSG Consulting, a startling 76% of voters surveyed in battleground states said the country is heading in the wrong direction. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said the cost of living was their most pressing concern, far ahead of all other issues.

Among the unfortunate were demographic groups that Democrats consider an important part of their electoral base: minority voters, young voters and unmarried women.

Listing achievements does not move them, Greenberg warned in a memo. Democrats talk about this strong economy and things that are moving in the right direction [sound like they] are talking about another country.

His prescription: I would just talk about the high prices, what we have done and how we can help in the future, and try to win the argument about the cost of living.

That includes sharper attacks on big companies that have used their market power to raise prices, Greenberg said.

He also has other suggestions, on issues like the child tax credit, immigration and crime. But the cost of living comes first.

It’s the only problem for Generation Z, millennials, unmarried women and white working-class voters under 50, he said.

A study published last week by Way to Win, a group focused on mobilizing voters of color, warned that touting abstract economic gains doesn’t work for Democrats because most voters think Republicans are better at managing the economy. But if Democrats reframe the question as which party can be counted on to work for the economic well-being of your families, they have a chance.

Is the White House listening?

“I think so,” Greenberg said. I think there is an internal debate going on.

Biden’s most recent speeches reflected some modest adjustments. He has largely stopped referring to Binomics. He’s talking less about job creation and more about efforts to rein in prices.

But in a December During his ninth speech in Las Vegas announcing funding for a high-speed rail line to Los Angeles, he still wavered between talking about his past achievements and promising action to rein in inflation.

America has seen the strongest growth and now has the lowest inflation of any major economy in the world, he said. But there is still more to do. We know that prices are still too high for too many things.

A president’s levers to control inflation are limited. Biden’s new message focuses on lowering drug prices, banning junk fees and encouraging corporate actions that may have limited impact on the economy but at least allow voters he tries.

Aides say he will also more often encourage voters to compare his policies with those of his opponents.

President Biden’s record stands in stark contrast to that of Republicans in Congress, who have no plan to lower the cost of living and instead want to reward corporations and the wealthiest with trillions in tax breaks, his communications director said, Ben LaBolt, last week.

They know they face an uphill battle. We didn’t take a victory lap, a senior Biden aide told me.

Time is short. In a presidential election year, most voters make a decision in the middle of summer. Biden has six months to convince them that his economic policies are working better than they think.

The challenge for Biden and his campaign strategists is how to convince disaffected voters not only that better times lie ahead, but also that he deserves some credit.