Job gains, Congress, and the Biden Administration deliver causes for cautious optimism
Over 500,000 jobs added throughout July, Congress passes multiple bills, Biden Administration begins fulfilling campaign promises, inflation shows signs of slowing, and more
Just when U.S. job growth appeared to be decelerating, and progress in Congress appeared to be grinding to a halt, President Biden signed multiple bills into law, his Department of Education is finally acting on partial student loan forgiveness, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics released multiple reports worth celebrating.
While this article won’t be a deep dive into any one of these subjects, I wanted to share some (mostly) good news with readers this month and provide a brief overview of events I’ve been following. I hope that these stories leave you feeling encouraged that a better world is still possible, and that we still can progress towards are more just economy.
July Jobs Report Shows 528,000 Net Jobs Gained
According to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth accelerated in July—despite decelerating in prior months—and the U.S. economy added 528,000 more jobs than it lost. Not only does this cast doubt on claims that the U.S. was sliding back into a recession, but it also means that employment levels now exceed their February 2020 levels, the prior peak before March and April 2020’s devastating losses.
See, for instance, the graph below showing the trajectory of employment levels between 2020 and July 2022, where February 2020 levels are the 100% benchmark, and this July we once again crossed that threshold.
Inflation Shows Signs of Easing
In addition to a positive jobs report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released reports surrounding inflation which have me feeling cautiously optimistic. The Consumer Price Index remained flat throughout July, meaning that the monthly headline rate of inflation hit 0% for the first time since 2020, and core inflation is down as well. The Producer Price Index even fell by half a percentage point, with goods falling by 1.8% and services increasing by 0.1% throughout July.
I’m certainly not claiming that one month’s preliminary data can be extrapolated into predictions about what’s going to happen in the years or even months to come, especially in a world that is increasingly unpredictable, but this good news is welcome, nonetheless. In other good news—which I am, admittedly, hesitant to hope will be only the beginning of more progress in the near future—Congress passed some noteworthy legislation this month.
Congress Passes Major Legislation—CHIPS Act, PACT Act, and Inflation Reduction Act
I will likely go into further detail in future articles, but I wanted to at least mention these important bills which were signed into law this month. Many people—this writer included—were concerned that the budget reconciliation package of infrastructure investments and social programs being negotiated last year would remain in limbo indefinitely. However, a stripped-down version of the Build Back Better Act made it to President Biden’s desk this month.
The Inflation Reduction Act
While this version of the bill is called the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, many likely disinflationary provisions which were being negotiated last year, such as the housing supply investments, did not make the final cut. Many positive inclusions did make it, though, and some of these do have the potential to bring down costs for millions of Americans.
Making clean energy technology more affordable via tax credits and allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices will likely make a dent in many budgets. Still, I lament the loss of certain provisions like the Civilian Climate Corps, which the original Build Back Better Act would have delivered.
I also worry about concessions made to Senators like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, but as long as the Supreme Court decision equating money to free speech and allowing unlimited corporate campaign contributions remains intact, this is unfortunately going to remain the price of accomplishing virtually anything in Congress.
For these and other reasons, I still believe that we need to pass the For the People Act or, at the very least, certain key provisions within the Act, or future legislation will be similarly compromised by wealthy interests getting priority over the will of the people.
But I am still optimistic about the future. If we can turn this situation into a turnabout for the Biden administration, where we begin ramping up political momentum for meaningful progress—despite largely losing that momentum last year—this could be a pivotal moment in U.S. politics.
The CHIPS and Science Act
Other reasons to be hopeful that political momentum may once again be building involve other bills which President Biden recently signed into law. Before passing the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress also passed a bill which aims to invest in U.S. manufacturing and supply chain dependability.
The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America or “CHIPS” and Science Act could help bring back some manufacturing jobs and address supply chain vulnerabilities which have been exacerbated in recent years.
I still would have preferred to see more stipulations and requirements placed on corporations which receive public funds, especially since we’ve been burned so many times in the past. We could have, for instance, required that these companies create good union manufacturing jobs, pay their workers prevailing wages, or placed any number of requirements that might prevent these corporations from simply pocketing the money.
For instance, Senator Bernie Sanders proposed these requirements:
I’m opposed to this legislation in any form until these conditions are met:
companies must agree to issue warrants or equity stakes to the federal government;
they must commit to not buying back their own stock, outsourcing American jobs overseas or repealing existing collective bargaining agreements;
and they must remain neutral in any union organizing efforts.
The demands I’m making are not radical. They are the same conditions that were included in the CARES Act, which passed the Senate 96-0.
Bernie was, unfortunately, unable to gain enough support from his Senate colleagues to pass these sensible requirements. However, if this legislation ultimately helps get some of these critical jobs back on this hemisphere, and prevents them from being shipped overseas in the future, then I will consider it a net positive. Increasing the availability of computer chips should also eventually bring down the prices of everything from cars to appliances in this increasingly digital age.
The Honoring our PACT Act
One other piece of notable piece of legislation involved a struggle we’ve seen all too frequently, but Congress finally did the right thing. As you might’ve seen in the news, the former host of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, once again fought to ensure health care for those who put themselves at risk on behalf of the United States.
You might also remember when he advocated for 9/11 first responders to get health care, but far too many members of Congress will refuse to do the right thing unless someone brings their degeneracy to light, so Stewart had to once again fight alongside our veterans just to get affordable health care. Because he and other brave individuals stood together, the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act—or the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022—is now law.
For all their bluster about patriotically supporting the troops, only Republican Senators voted against the PACT Act, but it stilled passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 84-14. According to the VA website, the passage of the PACT Act will bring about the following changes:
Expands and extends eligibility for VA health care for Veterans with toxic exposures and Veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras
Adds more than 20 new presumptive conditions for burn pits and other toxic exposures
Adds more presumptive-exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation
Requires VA to provide a toxic exposure screening to every Veteran enrolled in VA health care
Helps us improve research, staff education, and treatment related to toxic exposures
It’s amazing what we can pass when individuals can come together, expose indefensible positions that members of Congress will take if they think they won’t face scrutiny, and demand progress. Before I wrap this month’s newsletter up, I want to discuss one more piece of positive news.
Biden Administration Announced Plans to Forgive Student Loan Debt
Despite the Democratic party’s waffling on the subject, and instances when they’ve doubted whether the President could or even should forgive student loan debt, the Biden Administration is finally moving to relieve up to $20,000 worth of student loan debt for millions of Americans.
Although this is essentially a bandage on a deeper problem, I still applaud President Biden for following through on a campaign promise. I was rather upset last year when top Democratic officials started trying to lay the groundwork for Biden to abandon a campaign promise, as some readers might remember, but the following is a reminder of how I reacted to certain news cycles at the time.
Like far too many recent pieces of legislation, this relief is also means-tested debt forgiveness, which phases out for high income individuals. I’ve mentioned throughout several articles that I would prefer to see universal relief which gets taxed progressively, or essentially means testing such provisions on the back end. Placing an administrative hurdle up front, on the other hand, often disproportionately harms those who need the most help.
Any student loan debt relief at all is still important in demonstrating that public funds can be used to make average people’s lives better. It also helps to rebuild some trust that has been lost throughout recent decades. We need more politicians who follow through on their campaign promises, and we need to invest in better, more affordable education. Another Build Back Better provision that is sorely missed is making community colleges tuition free for two years, but this is welcome progress.
I hope this article helps instill a bit of optimism in readers who might have been worrying that progress is becoming less and less achievable. While we still have a long way to go, we can still turn things around, we can improve people’s lives, and we can hold politicians accountable. It might not be easy, but it is worth pursuing, and there are good people everywhere who can help.
Please keep hanging in there, and take care of one another.
Thank you for reading my newsletter and taking the effort to learn about making the world a better place. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how we can make progress towards a more just economy.
-JJ