Ten Pieces of Positive Economic News to Kick Off 2023

     The cynicism that permeates our press and our public astounds me sometimes. People say the economy is falling apart because they feel like the economy is falling apart, rather than basing it on the numerous measures of economic health that have been established over the past century. People said that our economy would take years to recover from the effects of COVID-19, and then that inflation would continue rising in perpetuity, and then that our economy would fall into a recession. They have been proven wrong at every juncture, and it is my hope as well as my firm belief that they will continue to be proven wrong, as evidenced by the ten pieces of news from this month listed below:

1. Record job growth: With December's job report being the latest in a string of jobs reports that have come in above expectations, America has created 11 million jobs in the first two years of the Biden administration, more than in any two years in American history.
2. Record low unemployment: Once again, unemployment claims remained at their lowest rate since the presidency of Lyndon Johnson in December.
3. Declining consumer prices: The consumer price index fell to 6.5 percent in December, in line with expectations and down from a record 9.1 percent inflation rate in June 2022.
4. Declining producer prices: The producer price index fell even further and well above expectations, with producer prices dropping to 6.2 percent in December 2022, which represents the largest drop since the start of the pandemic and sets producer price increases back to what they were in March 2021.
5. Declining core inflation: The core inflation rate, which is the less volatile number that excludes food and energy prices, fell to 5.7 percent, down from 6.6 percent in September 2022.
6. A continuing trend of declining inflation: With all three key measures of inflation declining nearly every month in the last six months of 2022, the decline in inflation is officially a trend, and one that seems likely to continue into 2023.
7. Record small business growth: 10 million small business applications were submitted in 2021 and 2022, the most of any two-year period in American history. This is a result of legislation like the American Rescue Plan Act and PPP Extension Act providing unprecedented support to small business owners.
8. Record growth in manufacturing employment: Since President Biden took office, nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs have been created as well as more than 300,000 automotive jobs, signaling strength in another critical American sector that has been ignored for far too long.
9. Revised Q4 GDP projections: In the first half of 2022, America's economy shrank by two percent before growing by a higher-than-expected 3.2 percent in Q3. The fourth quarter report was recently revised upward, with some estimates putting it as high as 4.1 percent. Even with inflation, economists have actually predicted than 2022 could be an above-average year for GDP growth.
10. Major economic legislation: On January 1st, 2023, major legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act went into effect. The IRA, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will create millions of jobs and save families thousands of dollars as they continue to be implemented in 2023 and beyond. The end result will be better economic growth.

     The data is clear: America's economy is strong. The last thing it needs is a debt default that would drive up inflation and unemployment while ruining American credit, or cuts to vital programs like Social Security and Medicare. Contact your Republican representatives and senators and tell them to stop holding America's economy hostage for political gain.