Labor and Manufacturing
“The gulf between employers and the employed is constantly widening, and classes are rapidly forming, one comprising the very rich and powerful, while in another are found the toiling poor…. Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people’s masters.”
–President Grover Cleveland
American manufacturers have regained all the jobs lost under Trump during the pandemic. Biden bolstered domestic manufacturing with measures like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act. In fact, Biden added more than 67,000 more manufacturing jobs than existed during Trump’s presidency.
Chad Moutray is the chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers. He told the New York Times reporters:
“We have 67,000 more workers today than we had in February 2020. I didn’t think we would get there, to be honest with you.”
Pretty impressive but those numbers would be even higher if the labor market weren’t so tight. However, a tight labor market helps workers. Employers need to compete for talent. This leads to higher wages, benefits, and better work environments.
Meanwhile, the real net worth of the bottom 50% of U.S. households has climbed 60% since Biden took office, now reaching $67,524.