National Atlas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
President Joe Biden has brought a strong focus to Michigan, investing heavily in health care, the environment, education, transportation, child care, and more. The numbers and the project are here.
2024 first quarter figures are out, and. with President Joe Biden’s continued stewardship, the US economy continues to lead the world. The chart on this page shows that the US economic growth outstrips the EU, China, and all other major economies. The US recovery from Covid-19 also dramatically outpaces that of the rest of the major economic powers, many of which are showing negative growth over the last few years.
President Joe Biden’s administration has promulgated rules limiting miner’s exposure to toxic silica dust, which causes potentially fatal respiratory issues. These issues in mines have been known for 50 years. The Biden Administration finally took action.
With the help of President Joe Biden’s acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, union members approved a labor contract with Blue Bird Corp. From ABC News :”The union said the contract will provide all 1,500 covered workers with at least a 12% raise, with some of the lowest-paid workers getting raises of more than 40%. The union says the company will contribute to a retirement plan for workers, share profits, and improve health and safety.”
Expanding on the PACT Act signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, in September, 2023, the Biden Administration has sped up access to assistance for burn pit related medical conditions, and is creating new medical programs to increase coverage for veterans in rural, tribal, and other underserved communities.
President Joe Biden continues his efforts to cancel student debt nationally, with a cancellation that will affect 160,000 people, including teachers, nurses, law enforcement officials, and many who qualified for the administration’s “SAVE plan.”
President Joe Biden announced rules limiting the amount of a rental increase in housing financed with federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). Approximately 2.6 million rental properties are subject to LIHTC rules.
President Joe Biden has directed nearly $17b in funding to the Keystone State for energy conservation, clean water, more affordable medications, improved roads and bridges, better internet connectivity, and may more areas. “Infrastructure Week may have been a punchline but no more,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian said on a conference call with reporters.
President Joe Biden’s Bureau of Land Management has issued rulings ending new coal leasing in the nation’s most productive coal mining area, the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana. The move should keep 6 billion tons of highly polluting coal in the ground. “This is a monumental decision that will save lives, safeguard our environment, and significantly cut carbon emissions in the United States,” said Drew Caputo, vice president of litigation for lands, wildlife, and oceans at Earthjustice.
Passed early in 2021, President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan set aside $170 Billion for education, the largest investment in education in US history. The results so far have been encouraging. Hundreds of millions of dollars have gone to upgrading buildings where air conditioning was faulty, teachers’ unions have a greater say in how moneys are spent, dramatically more education support personnel have been hired (bus drivers, food service workers, other para-educators), mental health support for students, increased diversity in our teaching ranks — these are a few of the areas where the ARP has had a siginficant effect on our education system.
Despite GOP predictions of recession and other economic disasters, all three major indices, the Dow 30, NASDAQ, and the S&P hit all-time highs this week. While it is true that the stock market is not the true measure of the economy, first of all, it’s certainly better for it to be up than down, and, second, much of the boost in the last few days is on the news of the cooling inflation. With unemployment under 4% nationally for the last 27 months, and wages rising faster than inflation for the last year, the economy is strong across the board.
President Joe Biden secured $3 Billion in funding for the high-speed rail connecting Los Angeles with Las Vegas. It will be a 2 hour ride from Rancho Cucamonga in the Inland Empire to Las Vegas. He also announced $3 Billion in funding for the rail line that could ultimately connect Los Angeles and San Francisco, currently being built in the California Central Valley. The train to Las Vegas will alleviate frequent traffic problems and reduce carbon emissions, increasing access to Vegas.
President Joe Biden announced his $8.5 billion investment in Intel chip manufacturing plants, courtesy of the CHIPS and Science Act. This investment, along with many others like it, will create high paying jobs (many without the need of a college education) in Arizona and elsewhere. It is also part of the long term solution to the supply chain problems the US suffered at the beginning of Biden’s presidency.
The recently released Climate Powers Memo states the President Joe Biden has taken over 300 climate actions, the most in history. The Center For American Progress details the many ways Biden has taken strong action to protect the enviromment and address the climate crisis, many of which have appeared on this website previously.
While I generally avoid discussing the previous president, it is important to note that Donald Trump has recently asked oil executives for $1b in campaign contributions, and, in exchange, those executives have begun drafting executive actions that would, among other things, roll back as many of Biden’s actions as possible. The contrast is clear.
President Joe Biden took a moment to announce the investment by Microsoft for a facility to be built on the failed FoxConn site the previous president promised would be the 8th wonder of the world, but never materialized. Microsoft president Brad Smith told the crowd that Biden’s policies, especially the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and CHIPS and Science Act, helped make this investment possible. It is expected to create thousands of jobs and train 100,000 Wisconsonites in AI technologies for future job opportunities.
Under President Joe Biden, and, partly as a result of the CHIPS and Science Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, manufacturing job numbers jumped 41% year over year from through January, 2024.
President Joe Biden continues to deliver loan justice for defrauded students. This time, it is The Art Institutes, a private art school system that shut down last year. President Biden said, in a statement, “This institution falsified data, knowingly misled students, and cheated borrowers into taking on mountains of debt without leading to promising career prospects at the end of their studies.” The relief averages around $19,000 per borrower. This latest round of student loan forgiveness brings the total approved by the Biden Administration to almost $160 billion for nearly 4.6 million borrowers, an average of nearly $35,000 per student.
President Joe Biden’s DOT has promulgated new rules to airlines that checked bag fees, flight change fees, and (amazingly enough) to require airlines to show the full price of the ticket BEFORE consumers pay for the ticket!
President Joe Biden’s Department of Labor has released a rule that will increase the amount of salary a worker can earn and be eligible for overtime pay. Currently, if you earn more than $35,568 (less than $3,000 per month) as a salaried worker, you are not eligible for overtime pay. As of July 1, 2024, that number will be $43,888, and, as of January 1, 2025, the salary threshold below which you are entitled to overtime after 40 hours of work in a week will be $58,656. After that, starting January 1, 2027, the rate will be adjusted every 3 years. This new rule is expected to affect approximately 4 million workers.
The April jobs report is out, and it is what the Fed was hoping for. Job growth continues under President Joe Biden, but has slowed a bit more than expected. The economy added 175,000 jobs in April, keeping that number well over 15 million jobs added under the Biden Administration. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, making it 27 straight months of unemployment under 4%, the longest stretch of sub-4% unemployment in over 50 years. With unemployment low and wages rising faster than inflation, the benefits of the Biden economy are being felt across America. This was precisely the news the Fed is looking for to help keep inflation down as it looks for opportunities to cut rates.
True to his word, President Joe Biden is moving the DEA to take cannabis off of the most restricted drug list — Schedule 1 — and moving it to Schedule III. This move would make it easier to research the effects of cannabis, and would federally recognize and decriminalize its medical use. It will also clear federal resources to deal with actual serious drugs like fentanyl. Should cannabis be legal? Of course. But, this is the biggest federal step in that direction in over 50 years.
President Joe Biden has finalized a new rule for public land management that puts the concept of conservation on equal footing with those attempting to drill for oil or graze cattle, among other things, on public lands. The Bureau of Land Management currently has over 380,000 square miles under management. This rule changes the BLM from “industry friendly” to a more balanced approach to land management.
Today is May Day, also known as International Workers Day! On January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden asked for the resignation of Peter Robb. When Robb refused, he fired him. Robb was famously anti-union and was appointed by the previous president. His anti-union bonafides go all the way back to litigating against the Air Traffic Controllers under President Reagan, in what was the opening salvo in the war against unions that has gone on for since 1981. As already detailed here, the Biden Administration has made it a priority to reverse that trend.
