Looking back at 2022, I feel more confident about America than ever

Editorial note: The following op-ed was submitted by Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States.

Americans have been through a tough few years, but I am optimistic about our country’s economic prospects. Americans’ resilience has helped us recover from the economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic, families are finally getting more breathing room, and my economic plan is making the United States a powerhouse for innovation and manufacturing once again.

We entered this year with inflation still too high and families concerned about prices. Tackling inflation and giving families more breathing room was and is my top economic priority. We are making important progress transitioning from historic recovery to stable, steady growth. For the last several months wages have been increasing faster than prices, gas prices are at their lowest levels since last summer, and year-over-year inflation has been slowing.

As I have said, it’s going to take time to get inflation back to normal levels, and we may see setbacks along the way. The Federal Reserve has a primary responsibility to control inflation, and I have appointed highly qualified people to lead that institution, given the critical importance of its dual mandate of maximum employment and stable prices. But Americans should have confidence that my plan is working.

We are seeing the results. The economy has created more than 10 million jobs since I took office, and the unemployment rate is near a 50-year low. The unemployment rate for Black Americans and Hispanic Americans is near historic lows. The number of Americans filing for bankruptcy is half its pre-pandemic rate. 2021 and 2022 are on track to be the best and second-best years for small business applications on record.

I ran for office not just to address the economic crisis we faced in January 2021, but to rebuild the middle class and grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out. The heart of my economic strategy to strengthen the middle class is to rebuild the backbone of our economy — our nation’s industrial strength. To be a country where we make things, where we continually innovate at the cutting edge, and help create new products at lower costs for our economy and the world. To bring back the forgotten places in this country with jobs that pay a good salary and don’t all require a four-year college degree. To make everyday life more affordable, because if Americans have just a little bit of breathing room, the middle class can grow and build the strongest economy in the world.

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