The Daily Item
February 9, 2024
Biden economics. Just some more nonsense promoted by crazed socialists? No, not really. President Joe Biden’s record on the economy is quite extraordinary. Inflation has declined from over 8 percent just over a year ago to about 3 percent for the past several months. Job creation exceeds anything in recent memory. Unemployment has fallen to 3.6 percent, the lowest in decades. And so forth.
We all know the record, and if you support Donald Trump, the performance figures have been gnawing at your innards. No socialists here, just competent and caring leadership and staff who have defied the forecast recession, etc., to do the people’s work.
This is all on the national level, but here in Central Pennsylvania, rural America, we have been having some good news too. A couple of months ago, The Daily Item reported that during the past year, Union County has been awarded over $8 million, which has been transferred to 26 local organizations. The Council of Governments got $24,000 of these funds, Hartleton got $25,000 to improve the road from the main highway to the community’s oldest church, and Lewisburg got $160,000 for safe roads — throughout Lewisburg, we travel on roads that have recently been re-surfaced with tar and gravel, and painted lines. Five fire companies in Union County were awarded $1.15 million for ambulances and other items. Lewisburg was also awarded $85,000 for work on the Hufnagle Park Event Venue between 5th and 6th streets, south of Market Street. This is just in Union County and was announced just during the past two weeks.
In addition, Williamsport Airport is opening again on May 23, and later this year, rail travel may be opened from Scranton to New York City and from Reading to Philadelphia. Under what other administration have rural counties, such as ours, been awarded such infrastructure and services support?
I recently (2021) did a project, Public Policy in Contentious Times, in which I identified 41 needs of both urban inner city and rural counties and communities. These included: the improvement of roads and streets, development funds to smaller communities, affordable housing, computer and internet access for all K-university students, broadband to rural communities, support of smaller airports, income maintenance and skill development for those living in poverty, universal daycare, among other items. Of these 41 needs, the first three Biden acts — the American Rescue Plan Act, The American Jobs Plan, and the American Family Plan, treat 22. Since then, we have had the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
I have not yet determined how many of the remaining 19 items have been dealt with in these three acts. But the record of the Biden administration on these items is quite impressive. We see it every day in Union County. This is not socialism, just competent and caring government.
Peter Karl Kresl, Lewisburg Charles P. Vaughan Professor of Economics Emeritus at Bucknell University