Score one for Joe Biden
Before departing on Marine One for Christmas Eve, the press asked President Joe Biden about his outlook on the economy next year. Biden replied, “All good,” then insisted that the press “[t]ake a look” and “[s]tart reporting it the right way.” Indeed, with the unemployment rate approaching pre-pandemic levels and the annual inflation rate falling from 9.1% to 3.1% from June 2022 to November, Bidenomics is working and deserves better coverage.
On June 6, the White House launched Invest.gov, a website that highlights “historic” public and private sector investments under Biden’s Investing in America agenda. Up until that point, private companies had announced over $570 billion in private sector manufacturing investments, and the Biden administration had awarded over $220 billion in funding toward projects ranging from road repair and clean water delivery to high-speed internet and clean energy transportation infrastructure.
Now, as 2023 comes to an end, the Biden administration announced that based on updated data, as reflected in Invest.gov, it is clear that Biden’s Investing in America agenda “delivered results for American families.” The results have not only been significant but have spread to communities across the United States, including ones that have “too often been left behind.”
Among the White House’s “Top 10” list is the fact that over this past year Biden’s agenda has saved 15 million Americans $800 on health insurance coverage, capped insulin at $35 for seniors on Medicare, and taken other actions that have brought additional savings to seniors under the Inflation Reduction Act. As another example, the Biden administration has announced over 33,000 infrastructure projects from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2023 alone, with a total of more than 40,000 projects since the law was enacted.
You can read the entire “Top 10” indicators of progress made in 2023 in this White House blog post. At the rate the Biden administration is going, there is every reason to expect this historic progress to continue into 2024. Although so much is at stake in this new year, there is also a strong case for optimism. To paraphrase Biden, the press should report this optimism with the attention and accuracy it deserves.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month