ICYMI: Bidenomics Applauded as "Transformative," "Inflection Point," "A Zillion Positive Indicators"

This week, President Biden delivered a major address on Bidenomics, which is rooted in his belief that the best way to grow the economy is from the middle out and bottom up—not the top down. Bidenomics marks a "fundamental change in the nation's approach to economics" writes E.J. Dionne, breaking away from trickle-down economics—a failed theory that has failed the middle class.

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the United States has had the highest economic growth among the world's leading economies since the pandemic. We've added more than 13 million jobs—more jobs added in two years than any President has added in a four-year term. Unemployment has been below 4% for 16 months—the longest stretch in 50 years. And the share of working-age Americans in the workforce hasn't been higher in 20 years. This progress is "not just coincidence. It's a direct outcome of Biden policies: the Inflation Reduction Act, with its green technology provisions, the infrastructure bill, the CHIPS Act," writes David Brooks.

Under Bidenomics, we are making key investments in America, empowering and educating workers, and promoting competition to lower costs for families and help small businesses. As Jennifer Rubin writes, "it's hard to deny the results so far have been impressive. Economists may look back on this time as an inflection point when historic investments ushered in a new era of domestic manufacturing, gave a new lease on life to the Rust Belt and improved the balance sheet of middle-class Americans."

See coverage below:

The Washington Post (Opinion): 'Bidenomics' is transformative. Biden needs to ensure voters know it.
[Jennifer Rubin, 6/29/23]

The economy has created 13 million jobs, inflation has been more than cut in half, huge investments are being made in infrastructure and green energy, wage growth has begun to outpace inflation, the first drug price controls are going into effect and the biggest corporations will finally be forced to pay something in federal taxes. […]

At the White House on Monday, Biden highlighted the infrastructure bill's $42 billion investment in fast internet. On Wednesday, he delivered what was billed as a "major" economic address in Chicago. There, he decried trickle-down economics that "failed" the country and the middle class.

His three-part vision: "targeted investment" that encourages private investment (comparing it to Franklin D. Roosevelt's rural electrification and Dwight D. Eisenhower's interstate highway program); empowering workers (made-in-America provisions, increasing Pell grants and support for historically Black colleges and universities); and promoting competition (enforcing antitrust rules, cracking down on noncompete clauses, Medicare negotiation for lower drug prices). Biden stressed that the United States is "leading the world economies since the pandemic." As Biden said, it is "awful hard to demagogue something when it's working." […]

On a macro level, the level of private and public investment in the heartland stand out. Biden insists he is president of the entire country and that he will take care of regions that didn't vote for him. In that sense, he is building the economy geographically from the "middle out," as well. […]

Biden's success will depend on continued growth, job creation and inflation reduction. But it's hard to deny the results so far have been impressive. Economists may look back on this time as an inflection point when historic investments ushered in a new era of domestic manufacturing, gave a new lease on life to the Rust Belt and improved the balance sheet of middle-class Americans.

Washington Post (Opinion): If 'Bidenomics' works, it will be a very big deal
[EJ Dionne, 6/28/23]

President Biden might not seem like a revolutionary, but he is presiding over a fundamental change in the nation's approach to economics. Not only is he proposing a major break from the "trickle-down" policies of Ronald Reagan, as Biden highlighted in a speech in Chicago on Wednesday. […]

The shift also has to do with who Biden is, his long-standing alarm over the Democratic Party's alienation from working- and middle-class voters and an unease with the Reagan-era economic consensus that hovered over Democratic administrations.

MSNBC: Why the White House's compelling pitch on 'Bidenomics' matters
[Steve Benen, 6/29/23]

Flanked by blue signs with the word "Bidenomics," Mr. Biden delivered what aides called a cornerstone speech of his presidency. […]

This was not, strictly speaking, an "I've-done-great-stuff" presidential address. Rather, Biden set out to make the case against trickle-down economics — "It failed America," he said, "it blew up the deficit, it increased inequity, and it weakened our infrastructure" — and make the case for an alternative vision that's proven far more effective.

The Democratic president signed a series of ambitious economic measures, including the American Rescue plan, a bipartisan infrastructure package, the CHIPS Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Biden and his allies argued that this agenda would produce real results.

And that's what has happened. If you missed Chris Hayes' segment Wednesday on "All In," I'd encourage readers to check it out. Chris highlighted several data points that the public doesn't often hear, including:

1. Among our peer nations, the United States has the highest post-pandemic economic growth.
2. Among our peer nations, the United States has the lowest post-pandemic inflation.
3. The U.S. economy has created roughly 13.6 million jobs since January 2021 — more than double the combined total of Donald Trump's first three years in office.
4. The U.S. unemployment rate has reached lows unseen in over a half-century.

"This is ... one of the most impressive macroeconomic interventions in recent American history, in the last 100 years," Chris concluded. "If we end up in 2024, with these trends continuing, Joe Biden has one of the best economic stories to tell of any president in the last century."

The New York Times (Opinion): Why Biden Isn't Getting the Credit He Deserves
[David Brooks, 6/29/22]

There are a zillion positive indicators right now, as the folks in the administration will be quick to tell you. The economy has created 13 million jobs since Biden's Inauguration Day. According to the Conference Board, a business research firm, Americans' job satisfaction is at its highest level in 36 years. Household net worth is surging.

We learned Thursday that the U.S. economy grew at an annualized 2 percent rate in the first quarter of this year, well above the economists' expectations of around 1.4 percent. The best part of it is that the new prosperity is helping those who have long been left behind. In the four years of Donald Trump's administration, spending on manufacturing facilities grew by 5 percent. During the first two years of Biden's administration, such investment more than doubled and about 800,000 manufacturing jobs were created.

This is not just coincidence. It's a direct outcome of Biden policies: the Inflation Reduction Act, with its green technology provisions, the infrastructure bill, the CHIPS Act.