Friday open thread: Getting it done

Well, I had planned to begin our self-care early, but I think this fits in with that mission. It seems we're in the midst of a Biden Boom, and some media are noticing it:

While many people are uncomfortable communicating bad news, Democrats have a problem these days talking about good news, especially on the economy. Based on the data, President Biden and the Democratic Congress are set to preside over the strongest two-year performance on growth, jobs, and income in decades—so long as the current cycle of inflation eases, and the Omicron variant does not trigger another round of shutdowns. The future paths of inflation and the pandemic are large and important unknowns—but if they break right, everything else points to a Biden boom through 2022.

Over the first three quarters of this year, real GDP increased at a 7.8 percent annual rate—that’s adjusted for the current inflation. The Federal Reserve expects real growth of 5.9 percent for all of 2021, followed by another 3.8 percent increase in 2022. By any recent standard, these are extraordinary gains. From 2000 to 2019, real GDP grew at an average annual rate of 2.2 percent and never reached 3 percent. Investors have noticed: From January 20 to December 7, 2021, the S&P 500 Index jumped 21.7 percent.

Strong growth usually means healthy income gains, and the disposable income of Americans grew 3 percent after inflation over the 10 months from January to October. That far outpaces the gains of only 0.5 percent for the comparable period in 2019 and 1.7 percent in 2018. Wages and salaries comprise nearly all of most households’ incomes, and those earnings also are rising much faster than normal. From January through October, all wage and salary income paid by private businesses increased 2.4 percent after inflation, compared to gains of 0.3 percent for the comparable period in 2019 and 0.7 percent in 2018.

In the ten months President Joe Biden has been in office, the economy has added almost six million jobs. That is an achievement unheard of in American history. Inflation is a concern, but that's a result of pandemic economics, not something like the Arab oil boycott which sent gas prices skyrocketing in the 1970s.

As the article states, there are very good reasons to think that Omicron and inflation will ease and continue this boom through 2022. If that's so, even our feckless media will have to report the good news. Combine this with a far better-than-expected House redistricting, and the doom being purveyed by the great and the good may turn out to be a turkey of a prediction.

Of course, keep the eye on the ball, don't let up, and so forth. But people like voting for winners. And people like voting for candidates who act confidently. Being Eeyore has never won an election. Until the media starts doing its job and reporting the good news as well as the not-so-good, it's up to us to trumpet Pres. Biden's achievements. And if we get Build Back Better passed, then we'll see an economy go into hyperdrive. 

Reports of Democrats' death may turn out to be highly exaggerated.