Lots of this floating around the U.S. economy

Back in December 2021, we published the “Biden Boom” story. At the time, we noted how, in less than one year in office, President Joe Biden had already made great strides in the U.S. economy. That included, for example, getting economic growth up and unemployment down from the 2020 Trump Recession caused in large part by Donald Trump‘s failure to act on COVID. At the time, we suggested spreading this good economic news.

Now it’s more than 18 months later, and while Trump is busy begging for donations to defend himself against a growing pile of criminal indictments, President Biden has been busy helping all of us. As a result, the U.S. economy continues to defy the predictions of the doom and gloomers, including many in the mainstream media. This continuing Biden Boom is the great untold story of 2023. For example:

–Unemployment is only 3.6 percent, near the all-time low

–The U.S. has created over 13 million jobs since President Biden took office, which shatters the job creation record for a president’s 4-year term in just two and a half years.

–Inflation, which rose sharply due to the economic rescue steps needed after Trump’s COVID failures, is now down to three percent.

–U.S. Gross Domestic Product (i.e. economic growth) is still going strong at well over 2 percent annually.

–U.S. manufacturing growth has sharply rebounded under President Biden, and according to Axios, “outpaces the rest of the world.”

While all of this good economic news is occurring, a crucial moment took place last Wednesday, when Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the Federal Reserve staff no longer forecasts a U.S. recession. This means the U.S. is likely headed for the much sought-after but rare “soft landing” of lowering inflation without causing a recession. Large companies like Caterpillar, reporting very high profits, agree.

Solar power, a better alternative to fascist Russian gas

The Shock Doctrine is the idea that, when disasters or wars strike, conservatives try to use the events to push their existing agenda, such as privatization of important government functions, in response. Republicans have foisted such policies in places as far-flung as Iraq and New Orleans. We have argued that, in turn, Democrats should institute their policies, i.e. a Liberal Shock Doctrine, when they are in power and disasters and wars occur. That might include, for example, stronger gun safety laws after the shock of a mass shooting, or the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, including government stimulus payments and other federal aid, which Congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden successfully brought about in 2021 after Donald Trump‘s inaction in the face of the COVID pandemic plunged the U.S. into a recession in 2020.

Russia‘s shocking and tragic invasion of Ukraine presents another opportunity for the United States, and countries around the world, to create a liberal version of the Shock Doctrine. First, countries can promote the idea of democracy (which is well-represented by Ukraine) instead of fascist dictatorship, exemplified by Russia and Vladimir Putin. But in addition, there is one specific policy that the U.S. and the world should be pushing right now: