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Opinion Biden is succeeding in building the economy from 'bottom up, middle out'
This makes me smile
Link to tweet
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/13/biden-economy-wages-increasing-inflation/
You’ve probably heard President Biden say that he wants to build the economy “from the bottom up and the middle out.” Since he’s been elected, he used that phrase more than 150 times in public appearances. In the past week alone, he repeated it not only in his State of the Union address, but also in speeches in DeForest, Wis., and in Tampa.
There’s ample evidence that it’s happening. Last August, the Dallas Federal Reserve found that over calendar year 2021, “nominal earnings grew 7.7 percent [for low-earners], compared with 4.8 percent for mid-earning workers and 3.6 percent for high-earning workers.” While lower-wage workers were disproportionately affected when covid-19 shut down the economy, when it started to reopen, the job market was tight, so employers had to pay more to attract workers. Lower-income workers benefited the most.
As Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, tells me, “When the economy sniffles, folks at the bottom catch pneumonia.” Now, he says, the opposite is happening: Those at the bottom are getting an extra boost.
It didn’t happen by accident. Biden’s American Rescue Plan kept businesses from going under and prevented families from being evicted or going hungry. That meant employers were ready to hire when, thanks to the coronavirus vaccination program, people felt safe returning to work.
Disproportionate gains for lower-income workers continued throughout 2022. And at the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported, the median weekly earnings for all workers were 7.4 percent higher than they were compared to a year before. Wage growth outpaced the year-to-year inflation rate by the end of 2022.
There’s ample evidence that it’s happening. Last August, the Dallas Federal Reserve found that over calendar year 2021, “nominal earnings grew 7.7 percent [for low-earners], compared with 4.8 percent for mid-earning workers and 3.6 percent for high-earning workers.” While lower-wage workers were disproportionately affected when covid-19 shut down the economy, when it started to reopen, the job market was tight, so employers had to pay more to attract workers. Lower-income workers benefited the most.
As Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, tells me, “When the economy sniffles, folks at the bottom catch pneumonia.” Now, he says, the opposite is happening: Those at the bottom are getting an extra boost.
It didn’t happen by accident. Biden’s American Rescue Plan kept businesses from going under and prevented families from being evicted or going hungry. That meant employers were ready to hire when, thanks to the coronavirus vaccination program, people felt safe returning to work.
Disproportionate gains for lower-income workers continued throughout 2022. And at the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported, the median weekly earnings for all workers were 7.4 percent higher than they were compared to a year before. Wage growth outpaced the year-to-year inflation rate by the end of 2022.
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