When Joe Biden assumed office in January 2021, he inherited a mess. The pandemic was raging and the economy was in distress, largely because of the inept response by the Trump administration.
In March, without a single Republican vote, Biden and the Democrats passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to fight COVID and energize the economy. By using the Defense Production Act and mobilizing public/private resources, Biden’s team distributed millions of vaccine doses nationwide, free to those who wanted them. Stimulus money provided urgently needed assistance for many.
This massive effort worked remarkably well. As people became vaccinated and stimulus measures were implemented, consumers boosted the economy. Many U.S. companies achieved their highest profits since 1950.
Unemployment declined from 6.2% in February 2021 to the current 3.9%. By a wide margin, more jobs were created during Biden’s first year than 12 years of the G.W. Bush and Trump administrations combined. Child poverty was reduced by half. 4.6 million previously uninsured Americans obtained health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. economy grew almost 6% in 2021. They predict growth for 2022 to be about 4% and inflation to slow. These rates are the highest the U.S. has experienced in decades. This is reflected in the strength of the stock market which attained record highs in 2021.
Bloomberg’s founder, Matthew Winkler, stated, “America’s economy improved more in Joe Biden’s first 12 months than any president during the past 50 years….”
The turnaround has been remarkable, however, because these achievements have been largely ignored by mainstream media that focuses on the negative, most Americans are not aware of these extraordinary accomplishments.
Despite these and other positives, Biden’s polling numbers are down. Obviously, Democrats must improve their messaging.
Andrew Kramer, Ivins