At The Current Rate, America's Economy Will Fully Recover By April 2022

 

     President Biden spoke on a wide variety of topics today but with a singular focus: to increase vaccinations in order to continue economic recovery and growth and help rebuild America's middle class. He wore a tan suit, seemingly mocking the right-wing pundits who, almost exactly seven years ago, mocked President Barack Obama for doing the very same thing.

     This comes on the heals of a string of victories for progressives: after Cori Bush slept outside Congress when the body failed to extend the eviction moratorium, the CDC announced a new eviction moratorium covering COVID "hotspots," or roughly 80 percent of counties and 90 percent of the U.S. population, as the White House urges state and local governments to quickly distribute more than $40 billion in housing aid funds. Then, in the same day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reversed earlier statements in which she doubted the ability of a president to cancel student loans by executive order and the White House announced the extension of the student loan repayment pause until January 31st, 2022. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Elizabeth Warren, among others, continue to urge Biden to forgive all student loan debt and restructure the student borrowing system.

     Biden himself has reason to celebrate: the July Jobs Report shows that the United States added nearly 950,000 jobs in the last month. The president noted that there would be ups and downs in hiring numbers: monthly reports have ranged from roughly 300,000 jobs to this month's 950,000. However, on average, the United States has added over 650,000 jobs a month since President Biden took office, an increase from an average of 500,000 in his first few months, and the American Rescue Plan Act was structured to increase funds if any month saw a hiring lag for a full year, meaning that this landmark law's funding will last until March 2022.

     At a rate of 650,000 jobs a month, the United States is on track to fully restore its economy by April 2022, perhaps earlier than some economists projected. The Dow Jones is expected to near 40,000 as the economy grows at the quickest rate in 40 years; unemployment fell from 5.9 percent to 5.4 percent in the wake of last month's announcement that consumer spending and confidence as well as quarter GDP growth have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

     Joe Biden's economic growth rate is five times higher than Donald Trump's was even before the pandemic. He is making the largest investment in infrastructure since the New Deal and could create more jobs than any president in American history. 70 percent of adults are now partially vaccinated and 50 percent fully vaccinated against COVID as vaccination rates pick up once more. America is coming back, and now is the time to make sure we do not relent, but instead build back better.